Wiser

CHAPTER 4

Group Polarization

There are clear links between cascade effects and the well-established phenomenon of group polarization, by which members of a deliberating group end up adopting a more extreme version of the position toward which they tended before deliberation began.¹ The problem is especially severe for groups of like-minded people, who typically get more extreme as a result of deliberation.

Group polarization is a frequent pattern with deliberating groups. It has been found in hundreds of studies involving more than a dozen countries, including the United States, France, Afghanistan, and Germany.² For example, group members who start out by disapproving of the United States, and are suspicious of its intentions, will end up with ...