6. Direct pressure. Pressure on group members can surface in many forms. The net effect is the same: Group members are encouraged to keep dissident views to themselves.

As one example, Janis reported that during Watergate, “Nixon time and again let everyone in the group know which policy he favored, and he did not encourage open inquiry.” Another example involves the Challenger disaster. Several engineers made the recommendation to postpone the Challenger launch. According to the Rogers Commission report, certain group members responded with direct pressure on those engineers to alter their views, with statements such as “I’m appalled that they could arrive at the recommendation” and “At that rate, it could be spring before the shuttle would fly.”