Polarization Polarization is a tendency to reason only in terms of extremes or opposites. The most common type of polarization is group polarization. Group polarization in general refers to the notion that judgments made by a group tend to be more extreme than judgments made by individual members. The concept of group polarization developed from a notion of the “risky shift.” It was originally thought that after group discussion, individuals would make riskier decisions than before. However, researchers then realized tendency could also be to the other extreme; that decisions could shift to a more cautious judgment. Group po