Groups collectively pick options no individual desires. Individuals hide true preferences fearing minority status. Miscommunication spirals into fake consensus. Everyone voices support based on wrong assumptions about others. Post-decision shock reveals universal regret. Five components drive the paradox from false dissatisfaction to leader defeat. Arrogant leaders ignore unknowns and agree blindly. No-conflict groups breed conformity over truth. Dominant leaders silence subordinates. Homogeneous groups conform without debate. Prosocial people most prone to paradox entrapment. Makerere staff funded lawsuit none wanted. School faculty suffered isolation from poor talks. Watergate coverup stemmed from unvoiced qualms. Hillsborough coverup involved hesitant compliance. Challenger disaster linked to unstated doubts. Differs from groupthink by lacking preference perception. Pluralistic ignorance fuels worst-case assumptions. Spiral of silence kills dissent.