Unit 4, Part 2: Social Loafing

Groups

______ become less productive as they increase in size

Max Ringelmann

Agricultural engineer _______ documented the phenomenon of an increased group leads to less productiveness in the 1800s.

Groups

______ become less productive as they increase in size

Max Ringelmann

Agricultural engineer _______ documented the phenomenon of an increased group leads to less productiveness in the 1800s.

Linear Rate

Ringlemann’s data did not always indicate productivity decline at a decreasing rate, but instead at a _______ ; E.g.:

• 1 person = 100

• 2 people = 186

• 3 people = 279

So, the “at an ever decreasing rate” is not always in evidence

Ringelmann Effect

The _______ proposed that the loss of productivity in groups working on simple, additive tasks is caused by two types of process loss

Coordination Losses

It occurs when people cannot combine their efforts with maximum efficiency

Social Loafing

It is characterized by the reduction of individual effort exerted when people work in groups compared to when they work alone

Latané, Williams, & Harkins

_______ disentangled the effects of coordination loss and social loafing in their studies of groups and “pseudo-groups” making noise.

6 ± 2

Some of the few cures for social loafing are increase identifiability, minimizing free-riding by making the group as small as possible, with a group member number of _______.

Sucker Effect

Some of the few cures for social loafing is through increasing identifiability, minimizing free-riding by making the group as small as possible, and minimizing the ________ (equalizing the contributions of each group member).

Free Riding

It refers to contributing less to a collective task when one believes that other group members will compensate for this lack of effort

Social Laboring

Some of the cures for social loafing includes increasing the involvement by building in interdependence and members’ identification with the group to stimulate _________.

Social Compensation

_______ processes also work, in some cases, to reduce process loss by increasing the level of effort expended by others in the group

Collective Effort Model

The ________ of Karau & William applies motivation theory to motivation in groups.