User talk:Larry Wumpus/Extremist feedback loop

Is this the same as the LessWrongian "evaporative cooling of group beliefs"? I've tried to find a formal name for the concept, but I probably don't know the appropriate search keywords - I'm getting descriptions of wp:self-selection bias, which is somewhat related, but definitely not the same.

And I'm not sure how suitable is the current title - it's a feedback loop indeed, but "extremist" seems a bit too strong.--ZooGuard (talk) 18:14, 24 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Yes, this article is exactly what I'm talking about, although the examples given are about large paradigm shifts rather than the subtle escalation I've witnessed on websites. I'm surprised I didn't think of the sunk cost fallacy, which definitely informs so much of this. As far as the title, I think extremist is probably the most succinct word for what I'm describing, but there's probably something that's more inclusive of insular groups unrelated to politics (for example, obsessive fandoms). Larry Wumpus (talk) 18:36, 24 March 2014 (UTC)