💾 Archived View for gmi.noulin.net › mobileNews › 900.gmi captured on 2023-06-16 at 21:15:08. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Abilene paradox

2008-12-16 06:34:16

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Abilene paradox is a paradox in which a group of people collectively decide

on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of any of the

individuals in the group[1][2][3] It involves a common breakdown of group

communication in which each member mistakenly believes that their own

preferences are counter to the group's and, therefore, does not raise

objections.

Origins

It was observed by management expert Jerry B. Harvey in his article The Abilene

Paradox and other Meditations on Management.[4] The name of the phenomenon

comes from an anecdote in the article which Harvey uses to elucidate the

paradox:

On a hot afternoon visiting in Coleman, Texas, the family is comfortably

playing dominoes on a porch, until the father-in-law suggests that they take a

trip to Abilene [53 miles north] for dinner. The wife says, "Sounds like a

great idea." The husband, despite having reservations because the drive is long

and hot, thinks that his preferences must be out-of-step with the group and

says, "Sounds good to me. I just hope your mother wants to go." The

mother-in-law then says, "Of course I want to go. I haven't been to Abilene in

a long time."

The drive is hot, dusty, and long. When they arrive at the cafeteria, the food

is as bad as the drive. They arrive back home four hours later, exhausted.

One of them dishonestly says, "It was a great trip, wasn't it." The

mother-in-law says that, actually, she would rather have stayed home, but went

along since the other three were so enthusiastic. The husband says, "I wasn't

delighted to be doing what we were doing. I only went to satisfy the rest of

you." The wife says, "I just went along to keep you happy. I would have had to

be crazy to want to go out in the heat like that." The father-in-law then says

that he only suggested it because he thought the others might be bored.

The group sits back, perplexed that they together decided to take a trip which

none of them wanted. They each would have preferred to sit comfortably, but did

not admit to it when they still had time to enjoy the afternoon.

[edit] Groupthink

The phenomenon may be a form of groupthink. It is easily explained by social

psychology theories of social conformity and social cognition which suggest

that human beings are often very averse to acting contrary to the trend of the

group. Likewise, it can be observed in psychology that indirect cues and hidden

motives often lie behind peoples' statements and acts, frequently because

social disincentives discourage individuals from openly voicing their feelings

or pursuing their desires.

The Abilene Paradox is related to the concept of groupthink in that both

theories appear to explain the observed behavior of groups in social contexts.

The crux of the theory is that groups have just as many problems managing their

agreements as they do their disagreements. This observation rings true among

many researchers in the social sciences and tends to reinforce other theories

of individual and group behavior.

[edit] Applications of the theory

The theory is often used to help explain extremely poor business decisions,

especially notions of the superiority of "rule by committee." A technique

mentioned in the study and/or training of management, as well as practical

guidance by consultants, is that group members, when the time comes for a group

to make decisions, should ask each other, "Are we going to Abilene?" to

determine whether their decision is legitimately desired by the group's members

or merely a result of this kind of groupthink. This anecdote was also made into

a short film for management education.[citation needed]