In 1961 James Stoner observed that group decisions are riskier than the previous private
decisions of the group’s members (Stoner 1961). Since that time several hundred studies
have shown that the “risky shift” is a particularly pervasive phenomenon, and both risky and
cautious shifts are special cases of a more general phenomenon – group-induced attitude
polarisation (Myers & Lamm 1976). Group polarisation is said to occur when an initial
tendency of individual group members toward a given direction is enhanced following group
discussion. So, on decisions in which group members have, on average, a moderate proclivity
in a given direction, group discussion results in a more extreme average proclivity in the same direction. Such behaviour traits need to be considered in conjunction with group dynamics
and in particular “group think”.