Conformity And The Role Of Conformity Or Groupthink In It?

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Introduction
In April 1961 the USA launched an undercover invasion of Cuba in an effort to overthrow the Cuban president Fidel Castro. The mission resulted in an absolute fiasco and the relations between the two nations have been tense ever since. The aim of this paper is to present and describe the events that took place during that time as well as the consequences of this failure, and to discuss the possible reasons that led to a fiasco and the role of conformity and groupthink in it.
Definitions
According to the Oxford dictionary, fiasco is a complete failure, in specific, one that is very humiliating and ridiculous (Oxford Dictionaries).
Conformity is an alteration in behaviour and attitudes, resulting from social pressure, which is the …show more content…

According to conformity’s theory, people, engaged in ambiguous tasks and questions with no clear answer, are more prone to conform with the beliefs of the group, which is what happened with Kennedy who agreed to an invasion plan despite his doubts. Also, in tasks where the individual is not as competent as other members, he or she is more susceptible to conformity, as in the case of Kennedy who, not as competent in strategy and warfare as the CIA officers, complied with their views. (Fledman, 2015)
In the same way, groupthink deteriorates moral judgement and mental competence, as retaining group cohesiveness is considered to be more important than deciding in a realistic way. The groups that are more susceptible to this phenomenon have members with similar backgrounds, in this case high ranked politicians and CIA officers, who are shield from outside opinions, all meetings in this case were confidential with only a small group of trusted members taking part in them, and with no clear rules for decision making. (Fledman, …show more content…

Another symptom is the belief in inherent morality of the group as no one questioned the morality of overthrowing Castro and interfering in Cuban affairs. In addition, there is collective rationalization, where members rationalize warnings that might challenge the group’s assumptions, as when Kennedy approved the new landing site, despite the Joint Chief Staff’s warnings, and assumed that the brigade could escape through the mountains even though this was fairly impossible. What is more, out-group stereotypes such as believing the others to be weak or stupid exist, which is also the case in the Bay of Pigs invasion where the decision makers underestimated Castro and his power. Last, in groupthink, there are usually self-appointed mind-guards who are members that try to insulate the group from contradicting information, which in this case were the CIA officers. (Fledman,

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