Group polarization

Group polarization effects have been demonstrated to exaggerate the inclinations of group members after a discussion.

Study of this effect shown that after participating in a discussion group, members tend to advocate more extreme positions and call for riskier courses of action than individuals whom did not participate in any such discussion. This phenomenon was originally coined "risky shift" but in recent years experimental conditions have been found that lead group discussion to inhibit risk; many now use "choice shift" as a replacement term for both effects.

In addition, attitudes such as racial and sexual prejudice tend to be reduced (for already low-prejudice individuals) and extremified (for already high-prejudice individuals) after group discussion.

See also: Groupthink, group-serving biases