... by committees, boards, and the jury. Other studies supported his finding of the "risky shift", but contradictions were also found - the shift was not always towards the risky end of the spectrum. At times group discussions lead to an even more cautious decision, but in those cases the initial decision was already cautious. This showed that when in a group, decisions tended to be more extreme; this is known as group polarization. Group discussions lead to the exaggeration the initial tendencies of the member(s). Myers and Lamm (1976) showed that the effects of group polarization are also obvious in non risk-related situations. Kalven and Zeisel (1966) studied real jurors. They found that out of 215 cases, 209 showed effects of group polarization. The final outcome was an exaggeration of the initial decision of the majority. Myers and Kaplan (1976) conducted a similar research, but into mock jurors ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now