Risky shift

In social psychology, the risky shift is the tendency for decisions taken by a group after discussion to display more experimentation, be less conservative and be more risky than those made by individuals acting alone prior to any discussion.

In group conditions, people with relatively moderate viewpoints tend to assume that their groupmates hold more extreme views, and to alter their own views in compensation--a phenomenon known as groupthink. This can occur simultaneously and in isolation: all group members might adjust their views to a more conservative or liberal position, thus leading to a "consensus" that is totally false. The risky shift occurs when the group collectively agrees on a course of action that is likewise more extreme than they would have made if asked individually.

In 1970, Myers and Bishop demonstrated this effect by arranging students into groups to discuss issues of race. Groups of prejudiced students were found to be become even more prejudiced, while unprejudiced students became even more unprejudiced.

Today, the phenomenon is typically known by the more general name "Group polarization." The earliest experiments predominantly selected topics for which participants turned out to move towards riskier decisions, so the name "risky shift" was accurate. However, depending on the initial tendencies of group members, "cautious shift" outcomes are also possible. It is more accurate to say that following discussion, a group's actions will be a more extreme version of each individual's preferred action.

Implications
Risky shift or the more generalized tendency for groups to adjust their views in light of social context has profound impact on juries, who often decide the severity of punishment in light of the strength of the evidence they are presented.