Exploring the Effectiveness of Online Role Play Simulations in Tackling Groupthink in Crisis Management Training

Crisis management in law enforcement contexts is considered to be a kind of Naturalistic Decision-making (NDM). In a NDM situation, crisis management personnel usually have to tackle highly fluid situations under great stress and uncertainty. It has been observed that a major challenge to the effective handling of crisis situations is the tendency for the personnel involved to ignore alternatives and make irrational decisions that, a phenomenon that the psychologist Janis (1972) refers to as Groupthink. This paper reports on the design of an online Role Play Simulation (RPS) for crisis management training and its implementation in in-service police training. The interactions of participants recorded during the RPS training were categorized using Bales' Interaction Process Analysis (IPA). The results show that participation in the RPS has positive effect on the reduction of Groupthink tendency.