Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

A pertinent question that needs to be asked, especially in this divisive and partisan time of ours.

“How different am I, how different are you, how different is any human—all of us with instincts that tell us we are safer in our groups?”― Daniella Mestyanek Young, Uncultured: A Memoir

"Symptoms of groupthink include an illusion of invulnerability, where the group feels overly optimistic and immune to criticism; collective rationalization, where members discount warnings and ignore risks; stereotyping of outsiders; the pressure to conform on those who question the consensus; self-censorship of dissenting views; and the illusion of unanimity, where silence is mistaken for agreement. Groups may also exhibit a strong belief in their inherent morality, leading to a disregard for the ethical implications of their decisions, and self-appointed "mindguards" who protect the group from contradictory information."---Google AI

Most people know which political side most fits that description, but self-reflection on that side likely means they don't see it.

(Oct 12, 2025 12:42 AM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]Most people know which political side most fits that description, but self-reflection on that side likely means they don't see it.

What you said is one of the traits of group thinking:

"Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, biased, spiteful, impotent, or stupid."

But Haidt’s research went one step further, asking self-indentified conservatives to answer those questionnaires as if they were liberals and for liberals to do the opposite. What Haidt found is that conservatives understand liberals’ moral values better than liberals understand where conservatives are coming from. Worse yet, liberals don’t know what they don’t know; they don’t understand how limited their knowledge of conservative values is. If anyone is close-minded here it’s not conservatives.
- https://www.aei.org/articles/liberals-or...se-minded/

If conservatives, as a group, know how liberals would answer better than vice versa, it follows that they are not just stereotyping. Their understanding is literally more accurate.
Plus:

illusion of invulnerability = thinking they can celebrate political assassination with zero consequences.
overly optimistic and immune to criticism = feeling they can express their political opinions in most settings, especially in entertainment and academia, where conservatives cannot if they want to keep their job/advance.
collective rationalization = mostly believing the same things, especially when opposed to scientific facts.
members discount warnings and ignore risks = of hateful political rhetoric, excusing riots, releasing criminals without bail, etc..
stereotyping of outsiders = as Nazis, fascists, and threats to democracy, including "never be another fair election."
pressure to conform, self-censorship of dissenting views, and the illusion of unanimity = with the slightest disagreement, even from other Democrats, being vehemently attacked.

And yet you're doing nothing but stereotyping the opposition right now, as if anybody even suggested that they weren't also a group think. How does that prove you too aren't a group think? It doesn't. It just shows how locked into your own group think you really are if you are just trying to blame the opposition for it. Defensive much? lol

"Groupthink and stereotyping are linked because the process of groupthink includes stereotyping outsiders to maintain a sense of internal cohesion and moral superiority. This happens when a group develops an "us vs. them" mentality, automatically dismissing or denigrating those who have different viewpoints or are outside the group, which prevents the consideration of valuable external perspectives.

How stereotyping is a symptom of groupthink

Demonizing opponents: Groups in a state of groupthink stereotype opponents as inherently biased, uninformed, or foolish, which allows the group to dismiss dissenting opinions without critical evaluation.

Reinforcing the "in-group": By creating a negative stereotype of an "out-group," the in-group strengthens its own sense of unity and righteousness, which is a key element of the groupthink phenomenon.

Ignoring valuable information: This stereotyping prevents the group from objectively considering any information or warnings that challenge its own assumptions or beliefs, leading to flawed decision-making.

Part of a larger pattern: Stereotyping is one of several symptoms of groupthink, which also includes illusions of unanimity, rationalization, self-censorship, and pressure for conformity"

“Conformist thinking is self-defeating because it knows only the categories of punishment and submission, but not the potential that lies in understanding. The image of the enemy must be maintained at all costs; for this reason, the "enemy" must never be humanized. Both the revolutionary and the conformist depend on the image of the enemy; they need it in order to rationalize their violence to maintain their positions.” ― Arno Gruen, The Insanity of Normality: Toward Understanding Human Destructiveness

What Haidt found is that conservatives understand liberals’ moral values better than liberals understand where conservatives are coming from. Worse yet, liberals don’t know what they don’t know; they don’t understand how limited their knowledge of conservative values is. If anyone is close-minded here it’s not conservatives.
- https://www.aei.org/articles/liberals-or...se-minded/

So where conservatives understand the facts about leftist beliefs, leftists are forced to rely more on stereotypes, due to their lack of understanding. According to this research, leftists are literally more biased and uninformed. This means that their demonization of the right is less based in reality and more based in left-conforming ideology and stereotypes. The corollary being that the right is based more in reality and fact and less in stereotypes.

LOL You can't escape your own kneejerk stereotyping of "the Enemy", citing a supposedly sciency study by a noted conservative think tank just to prove how group thinking they are. In the meantime all you are doing is continuing to stereotype and dehumanize just to justify your hostility towards them. I guess there really is no escaping group think then, no matter how long you hold up the mirror to their members. No serious thinking for oneself on the issues. Just a perpetual us vs them mentality and obsession with being right. Pity....

“Conformist thinking is self-defeating because it knows only the categories of punishment and submission, but not the potential that lies in understanding. The image of the enemy must be maintained at all costs; for this reason, the "enemy" must never be humanized. Both the revolutionary and the conformist depend on the image of the enemy; they need it in order to rationalize their violence to maintain their positions.” ― Arno Gruen, The Insanity of Normality: Toward Understanding Human Destructiveness

Jonathan Haidt is a reputable social psychologist.

Haidt describes how he began to study political psychology in order to help the Democratic Party win more elections, and argues that each of the major political groups—conservatives, progressives, and libertarians—have valuable insights and that truth and good policy emerge from the contest of ideas.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_H...ical_views

But thank you for continuing to prove my point... that leftists are ignorant and more prone to "othering" their political opponents. It's not conservatives who ostracize family they don't agree with politically, started cancel culture, still blacklist people for their politics, etc..

Conservatives/Republicans have long been very individualistic. This is counter to group think.

But as Haidt's research has found, "liberals don’t know what they don’t know; they don’t understand how limited their knowledge of conservative values is."

Quote:It's not conservatives who ostracize family they don't agree with politically, started cancel culture, still blacklist people for their politics, etc

But it IS conservatives who kick LGBT teens out of the family, spread vicious lies about raping and murdering and job-stealing immigrants, oppress poor black people with racist myths about crime and welfare sponging and lack of motivation, stereotype all Muslims as anti-american terrorists, enact laws to remove reproductive rights from women, accuse trans women of lecherous bathroom activities, demonize rich Hollywood liberals as pedophiles, label all Democrats and progressives as violent radical leftists, blacklist communists/socialists, and about a dozen other forms of hatred and hostility against people you never met. That's a sure sign of group think, when you are fueled with rage about remote abstract things that aren't even very relevant in the scheme of things. It's like a drug habit you have to feed with incessant fixes of vilifying and scapegoating. When does it end? I guess it doesn't.

Yes, some portion (about 57%) of the 9.3% of the US that is LGBT is not supported by their family.
Compared to this:
Survey: Dems more likely to reduce family time over politics

Democrats (23%) are almost five times as likely as Republicans (5%) to say they'll spend less time with certain family members because of their political views, according to a post-election survey from PRRI.

And all of your characterizations of Republicans just further prove that all you can do is parrot leftist stereotypes without any understanding. That you dismiss one side's concerns as "aren't even very relevant," continues to prove you don't understand them.