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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 '''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."

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

 

{{QuoteBox|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.}}

[[Category:Paradoxes]]

[[Category:Paradoxes]]