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Revisiting the Abilene Paradox: Is Management of Agreement Still an Issue?
"Four adults are sitting on a porch in 104-degree heat in the small town of
Coleman, Texas, some 53 miles from Abilene. They are engaging in as little
motion as possible, drinking lemonade, watching the fan spin lazily, and
occasionally playing the odd game of dominoes. The characters are a married
couple and the wife�s parents. At some point, the wife�s father suggests they
drive to Abilene to eat at a cafeteria there. The son-in-law thinks this is a
crazy idea but doesn�t see any need to upset the apple cart, so he goes along
with it, as do the two women. They get in their unair-conditioned Buick and
drive through a dust storm to Abilene. They eat a mediocre lunch at the
cafeteria and return to Coleman exhausted, hot, and generally unhappy with the
experience. It is not until they return home that it is revealed that none of
them really wanted to go to Abilene�they were just going along because they
thought the others were eager to go. Naturally, everyone sees this miss in
communication as someone else�s problem." Keeping silence does not
mean they agree.