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. Max Ringelman, a French professor of agricultural engineering, demonstrated in the 1890s the concept of social loafing. Ringelman, who was also considered one of the founders of social psychology, made people pull on ropes both separately and in groups and measured and compared how hard they pulled. The results indicated 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 that their efforts 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.