都說集體的力量大，這句話放在很多場合還真的很適用。所以，社會心理學就有了“群體極化（group polarization）”這樣一個名詞。

In social psychology, group polarization refers to the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members. These more extreme decisions are towards greater risk if individuals' initial tendencies are to be risky and towards greater caution if individuals' initial tendencies are to be cautious. The phenomenon also holds that a group's attitude toward a situation may change in the sense that the individuals' initial attitudes have strengthened and intensified after group discussion.

在社會心理學中，群體極化（group polarization）指群體所作的決定一般都比其成員最初的意向更加極端。如果個人最初的意向是要冒險的話，那么群體的決定會更加冒險；而如果個人最初的想法趨于謹慎的話，那么群體的決策會更加謹慎。這種現象也說明群體態度的變化趨勢是個人最初態度經過集體討論后被強化的表現。

The phenomenon has shown that after participating in a discussion group, members tend to advocate more extreme positions and call for riskier courses of action than individuals who did not participate in any such discussion.

這個現象表明，與那些沒有參與任何群體的人相比，群體內的成員傾向于采取更加極端和冒險的行為方式和立場。

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（中國日報網英語點津 Helen）

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