Abilene paradox

The Abilene paradox is a paradox whereby all the members of a group decide on one course of action, despite many (or all) of the members having different preferences. It can be attributed to a breakdown in communication and thus differs from groupthink which is characterized by complete agreement among members who genuinely hold the same views.

The name comes from management expert Jerry B. Harvey in a 1974 article he wrote on the subject, whereby he used the following illustration:

A group of four family members living roughly one hour south of Abilene, Texas decide to go into town to eat. The drive is hot and long, and the restaurant food terrible. On the way home, each family member admits that s/he really didn't want to go into town to eat but went along with the idea to supposedly please the others.