Witnesses are victims of Group Think. It is pretty fascinating to read about Group Think from a psychological perspective. It makes it easy to see why people have a hard time leaving. When it comes to Witnesses, it is even worse because it goes week beyond their belief system and controls their daily life choices.
According to this website, http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm, here are the symptoms of people trapped in Group Think:
- 1. Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
- 2. Collective rationalization – Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
- 3. Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.
- 4. Stereotyped views of out-groups – Negative views of “enemy” make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary.
- 5. Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.
- 6. Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.
- Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.
- 7. Self-appointed ‘mindguards’ – Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.
