Explain the meaning of a risky shift and a conservative shift and why they occur in group decision making.

A risky shift is the tendency for groups to make riskier decisions than the average risk initially advocated by their individual members.A conservative shift is the tendency for groups to make less risky decisions than the average risk initially advocated by their individual members.A key factor appears to be the initial positions of the group members before they discuss the problem.When group members are somewhat conservative before interaction they tend to exhibit a conservative shift when they discuss the problem.When group members are somewhat risky initially, they exhibit a risky shift after discussion.In other words, group discussion seems to polarize or exaggerate the initial position of the group.Why do risky and conservative shifts occur when groups make decisions? Evidence indicates two main factors.Group discussion generates ideas and arguments that individual members have not considered before.This information naturally favours the members' initial tendency toward risk or toward conservatism.Since discussion provides "more" and "better" reasons for the initial tendency, the tendency ends up being exaggerated.Group members try to present themselves as basically similar to other members but "even better." Thus, they try to one-up others in discussion by adopting a slightly more extreme version of the group's initial stance.