cautious shift

a choice shift in which an individual making a decision as part of a group adopts a more cautious approach than the same individual would have adopted had he or she made the decision alone. Studies suggest that such shifts are (a) rarer than the opposite risky shift and (b) most likely to occur when the majority of the members of the group, prior to discussion, favor a cautious rather than a risky choice. See also group polarization.

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Psychology term of the day

May 10th 2024

urban legend

an incredible or lurid story, often involving a mixture of horror and humor, that is widely repeated as if true (often as the experience of a “friend of a friend”) but can never be firmly documented. Urban legends differ from myths and folktales in that they nearly always have a contemporary setting and often involve modern technology (e.g., the many such tales about microwave ovens).