Social loafing
In social psychology, social loafing is the phenomenon of a person exerting less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group than when working alone. It is seen as one of the main reasons groups are sometimes less productive than the combined performance of their members working as individuals.
Research on social loafing began with rope pulling experiments by Max Ringelmann, who found that members of a group tended to exert less effort in pulling a rope than did individuals alone. In more recent research, studies involving modern technology, such as online and distributed groups, have also shown clear evidence of social loafing. Many of the causes of social loafing stem from individual members' feeling their individual effort will not matter to the group. This is seen as one of the main reasons groups are sometimes less productive than the combined performance of their members working as individuals, but should be distinguished from the accidental coordination problems that groups sometimes experience.
Several studies found the most prevalent motivational origins of social loafing to be the lack of an understanding of individual contributions, unchallenging tasks given to the individual, low personal satisfaction from the task, and lack of a united group. Theories investigating why social loafing occurs range from group members' feeling that their contributions will not be noticed to group members' realizing their efforts are not necessary. In a work setting, most managers agree if a task is new or complex that employees should work alone, while tasks that are well-known and have room for individual effort are better when done in groups.
In order to diminish social loafing from a group, several strategies could be put forward. Social loafing primarily happens when an individual unconsciously or consciously exerts less effort due to a decrease in social awareness. In order to counteract the likelihood of this happening, Miguel Herraez conducted a study on students where he used accountability and cooperation when unequal participation is found. The students were encouraged to provide equal participation in the work and to point out sources of conflict that could arise. The conclusion of the study found that providing support to the group members lacking in commitment and creating options for independence among group members lowered social loafing. The support for the weaker students improves their standing while also benefiting the other students.
History
Rope-pulling experiments
The first known research on the social loafing effect began in 1913 with Max Ringelmann's study. He found that, when he asked a group of men to pull on a rope, they did not pull as hard collectively as they did when each was pulling alone. This research did not distinguish whether this was the result of the individuals in a group putting in less effort or of poor coordination within the group.In 1974, Alan Ingham, James Graves, and colleagues replicated Ringelmann's experiment using two types of group: 1) Groups with real participants in groups of various sizes Pseudo-groups with only one real participant. In the pseudo-groups, the researchers' assistants only pretended to pull on the rope. The results showed a decrease in the participants' performance. Groups of participants who all exerted effort exhibited the largest declines. Because the pseudo-groups were isolated from coordination effects, Ingham proved that communication alone did not account for the effort decrease, and that motivational losses were the more likely cause of the performance decline.
Clapping and shouting experiments
In contrast with Ringelmann's first findings, Bibb Latané et al. replicated previous social loafing findings while demonstrating that the decreased performance of groups was attributable to reduced individual effort, as distinct from a deterioration due to coordination. They showed this by blindfolding male college students while making them wear headphones that masked all noise. They then asked them to shout both in actual groups and pseudogroups in which they shouted alone but believed they were shouting with others. When subjects believed one other person was shouting, they shouted 82 percent as intensely as they did alone, but with five others, their effort decreased to 74 percent.Latané et al. concluded that increasing the number of people in a group diminished the relative social pressure on each person: "If the individual inputs are not identifiable the person may work less hard. Thus if the person is dividing up the work to be performed or the amount of reward he expects to receive, he will work less hard in groups."
Meta-analysis study and the Collective Effort Model (CEM)
In a 1993 meta-analysis, Karau and Williams proposed the Collective Effort Model , which is used to generate predictions. The CEM integrates expectancy theories with theories of group-level social comparison and social identity to account for studies that examine individual effort in collective settings. From a psychological state, it proposes that Expectancy multiplied by Instrumentality multiplied by Valence of Outcome produces the resulting Motivational Force.Karau, et al., concluded that social loafing occurred because there was usually a stronger perceived contingency between individual effort and valued outcomes when working individually. When working collectively, other factors frequently determine performance, and valued outcomes are also divided among all group members. All individuals are assumed to try to maximize the expected utility of their actions. The CEM also acknowledges that some valued outcomes do not depend on performance. For example, exerting strong effort when working on intrinsically meaningful tasks or with highly respected team members may result in self-satisfaction or approval from the group, even if the high effort had little to no impact on tangible performance outcomes.
Notable or novel findings by Karau and Williams following their implementation of the CEM include:
- The magnitude of social loafing is reduced for women and individuals originating from Eastern cultures.
- Individuals are more likely to loaf when their co-workers are expected to perform well.
- Individuals reduce social loafing when working with acquaintances and do not loaf at all when they work in highly valued groups.
Dispersed versus collocated groups
A sample of 240 undergraduate business students was randomly split into forty teams which were randomly assigned to either a co-located or distributed setting. The participants were to complete a task that asked them to act as a board of directors of a winery with an image problem. They were to find and discuss alternatives, and at the end submit their alternative with rationale. Co-located groups worked at a table together, while distributed groups did the same task at separate computers that allowed for electronic, networked communication. The same technology was used by both co-located and distributed groups.
Chidambaram and Tung found that group size mattered immensely in a group's performance. The smaller the group, the more likely each member was to participate, regardless of range. The main difference stated between distributed and co-located groups was the social pressure at least to appear busy that is present in co-located groups. When others are present, people feel the need to look as if they are working hard, while those who are not in the presence of others do not.
Gender and social loafing
In 1985, Gabrenya, Wang, and Latane found that in both Chinese and American cultures, social loafing varies between men and women. Women expressed less social loafing than men across different cultures. The authors argued that, regardless of the change in social roles, genetic and historical roles continue to make men more individualistic and women more relational.In 1999, Naoki Kugihara conducted another study in Japan on social loafing tendencies using similar methods as Max Ringelmann's rope-pulling experiment. He discovered that, when in a group, 40 percent more men exhibited less effort when performing the task than women, and attributed the difference to the tendency to have an interdependent self-concept.
Effect of culture
In 1989, Christopher P. Earley hypothesized that social loafing would be mitigated in collectivist cultures that focused more on achievement of the group than the individual. He conducted a study in the United States and China, which are considered to be opposites in their cultural valuation of groups, in order to determine if a difference in social loafing was present between the two cultures. Earley formed groups from both countries similar in demographics and in time spent with each other. Each group was tasked with completing various forms of paperwork similar to work they would be required to do in their profession. The paperwork was designed to take two to five minutes for each item, and the items were turned in to an assistant when completed so that no one could judge their work compared to others. Each participant was given 60 minutes to complete as many items as possible and was separated into either the high-accountability group, where they were told they needed to achieve a group goal, or a low-accountability group, where they were told they were to achieve a goal alone. They were also separated into high and low shared responsibility groups.It was found that, consistent with other studies, highly individualistic people performed more poorly on the task when there was high shared responsibility and low accountability than when there was high accountability. The collectivists, however, performed somewhat better on the task when high shared responsibility was present, regardless of how accountable they were supposed to be as compared to when they were working alone. This evidence suggests that collectivist thinking reduces the social loafing effect. Further evidence from a similar study showed the effect was related to the collectivist thinking rather than nationality, as individualistic Chinese workers did indeed show a social loafing effect.