This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: When everyone in a meeting voices the same opinion, an organization can miss important warning signs and new ideas. A research team from KAIST suggests that when members feel securely accepted within their group, they can express dissenting opinions in greater detail and more persuasively, and other members may be more willing to use those opinions in decision-making.
KAIST announced that a research team led by professors Sujin Lee and Seungwon Jeong of its School of Business and Technology Management, working with professor Zoe Kinias of the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada, presented findings suggesting that "group attachment security" can promote the expression and acceptance of minority opinions within groups. The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports. Group attachment security refers to a psychological state in which a person perceives their group as a secure source of support.
Members develop group attachment security when they receive emotional and relational support from the group and feel recognized as valued members. The more secure this attachment, the more members come to believe that voicing a different opinion will not lead to rejection or exclusion from the group. People with dissenting opinions often hesitate to speak up because of potential backlash, even when they have crucial insights.
This difficulty can be even greater within one's own organization, where members face stronger expectations to align with the majority view. The researchers reasoned that when feeling secure in a group eases worries about relationships, members can focus on the best outcome instead of other people's reactions. To test this, the team conducted two experiments using hypothetical decision-making scenarios, examining the perspectives of both minority opinion holders and the majority members who receive their opinions.
In the first experiment, participants were assigned to a group primed with attachment security or one that was not, then asked to express their opinions in a scenario in which they held a minority view. Participants primed with group attachment security produced more detailed and persuasive arguments than those in the neutral condition. The research team also found that this difference occurred because the participants focused more on the problem and the content of their opinions.
In the second experiment, participants took the perspective of a majority member and evaluated selected arguments written by minority opinion holders in the first experiment. They rated arguments from the secure attachment condition as more persuasive than those from the neutral condition. Overall, participants reported less perceived expectancy violation and a greater willingness to use minority opinions from the secure condition.
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