Abstract

Group polarization is the tendency for group interaction to produce group decision or mean of post-interaction individual decisions that is more extreme in the direction already favored than individual initial decisions. It was Known as 'risky shift by the findings that group was more willing to take risk than individual. But as its generality has proved accross various tasks and situations, it has been reconceptualized and now becomes one of the more popular topics in group dynamics. In line with these trends, a number of explanations have faded in and out. Persuasive arguments theory emphasizing informational influence and social comparison theory focussing on normative influence enjoy substantial empirical supports, and more recent self-categorization theory attempts to integrate these two theories in terms of social identity processes. In reviewing studies on group polarization, historical trends and current status followed by generality of phenomenon and major theories are presented Finally, future directions are discussed.