Sponsor Area

Social Influence And Group Processes

Question
CBSEENPS12041975

What is meant by 'Social Loafing'?

Solution

It has been found the individuals work less hard in a group than they do when performing alone. This point to a phenomenon referred to as social loafing. It is a reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task, i.e., one in which outputs are pooled with those of other group members. An example of such a task is the game of tug-of-war.

It is not possible for us to identify how much force each. Member of the team has been exerting.

They varied the group six, individual were either alone or in a group of two, four and six. The results of the study showed that although the total amount of noise rose up, as sixes increased, the amount of noise produced by each participant dropped.

  1. The motivation of members decreases because they realise that their contributions will not be evaluated on an individual basis.
  2. The performance of the group is not to be compared with other groups.
  3. There is an improper coordination (or no coordination) among members.
  4. Belonging to the same group is not important for members. It is only an aggregate of individuals.
  5. Social loafing may be reduced.