What Is “group Shift”?

By Staff WriterLast Updated March 29, 2020

According to the Citeman Article Repository, group shift is a phenomenon where individual decisions give way to exaggerated group decisions, often in a corporate or working environment. When individuals voice their opinions in a group setting, they move to an extreme rather than maintaining their original level of conviction.

For instance, mildly conservative individuals voice far-right opinions, while slightly liberal individuals voice far-left opinions. Because all individuals in the group exaggerate their own opinions, the opinion of the group becomes exaggerated as well. The most common result of group shift is the affected group voices opinions that are overall riskier than individual opinions.