Group Polarization (division):
Group polarization is the tendency of people to make decisions that are more extreme when they are in a group, as opposed to a decision made alone or independently
Compared to individuals, groups tend to make more extreme decisions regarding the amount of risk they are willing to take or the amount of caution they want to exercise.
Research has found that groups recommend riskier decisions than individuals. There is a shift toward riskiness among group members as compared to the same decision made alone by an individual group member. This phenomenon is known as the Risky shift.
However in some instances, groups make more cautious or conservative decisions than individuals. This phenomenon is known as the Cautious shift.
Both risky and cautious shifts are a part of a general phenomenon called polarization. It is the tendency of the group members to shift their views to ones that are extreme in the same direction to the ones that they originally favored.
Polarization: This occurs when the attitudes of a group become extreme – especially towards either risky or conservative positions (i.e., racial ideas etc.)
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