Harmony and consensus: cultural aspects of organization in international science

This article is the beginning of an analysis of cultural processes involved in scientific social organization and change which focuses on the International Working Group for the Harmonization of Dementia Drug Testing Guidelines (IWG). We provide some background for the IWG and for the study of its processes and focus on the construction of consensus and consensus statements of the constituent working groups of the IWG. We delineate a cultural ethos of cooperation that pushes scientists to agree even when they do not and to conceal disagreements. Our observations suggest that the consensus process may serve to inhibit or block the development of new ideas and solutions to problems by keeping conflicts hidden and different viewpoints masked. The masked ideas, although minority ideas, may contain much of importance for subsequent paradigm shifts in approaches to Alzheimer disease and other dementias. In subsequent reports, we will chronicle other aspects of the work of the IWG, including the nature of cross-cultural differences in the drug research structures and processes, governmental regulatory bodies, and the relationship of the pharmaceutical industry to clinical trials research. The present article adds some understanding of the IWG and its mission and contributes to the literature on the cultural construction and social organization of science.