Irving Janis

Irving Janis
BornMay 26, 1918
DiedNovember 15, 1990(1990-11-15) (aged 72)
EducationUniversity of Chicago (BS)
Columbia University (PhD)
EmployerYale University
SpouseMarjorie Janis
Children2
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
ThesisPsychological effects of electric convulsive treatments (1950)

Irving Lester Janis (May 26, 1918 – November 15, 1990) was an American research psychologist at Yale University and a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley most famous for his theory of "groupthink", which described the systematic errors made by groups when making collective decisions. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Janis as the 79th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.