According to the risky shift phenomenon, a group decision will

• A. Often be aggressive or illegal.
• B. Be less conservative than the average group member's decision, prior to the group discussion.
• C. Be more conservative than the average group member's decision, prior to the group discussion.
• D. Violate the group's confidentiality norms.

Answer: (B)

Risky shift describes how group discussion often pushes decisions toward greater risk than what the individuals would choose on their own before meeting. The group tends to converge on options that are less conservative than the average initial judgment of its members. This shift happens because people feel less personally responsible for risky outcomes when decisions are communal, and because persuasive arguments and social comparison within the group tend to amplify risk-taking tendencies. So the group decision ends up being less conservative than the average pre-discussion judgment. The other descriptions don’t capture this pattern—risk shift is about leaning toward more risk, not about legality, confidentiality, or a move toward greater conservatism.