Social loafing is when people don’t try as hard when they are working in a group compared to when they are working alone (Karau & Williams, 2019). This can happen because people feel like their efforts don’t matter as much in a group, or they don’t want to stand out too much. Kravitz and Martin (1986) discuss a study that was done where men were asked to pull on a rope in groups. As the group got bigger, the amount of force the group produced didn’t go up as much as it should have. This is called the Ringelmann effect. Other researchers including Ingham et al. (1974) figured out that social loafing happens because it’s hard to coordinate with others and people don’t feel as motivated. Studies by Latane ́ et al. (1979) increased the interest in research on social loafing and now we know that it happens in lots of different situations. There are things that can help reduce social loafing, like making sure each person’s contribution is important and meaningful, and making the group feel more like a team (Karau, 2018) Sometimes, people even work harder in a group to make up for other people who aren’t doing as well (Karau, 2018).
Ingham, A. G., Levinger, G., Graves, J., & Peckham, V. (1974). The Ringelmann effect: Studies of group size and group performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 371384.
Karau, S. J. (Ed.), (2018). Individual motivation within groups: Social loafing and motivation gains in work, academic, and sports teams. New York: Academic Press.
Karau, S. J., & Williams, K. D. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts. Academic Press.
Kravitz, D. A., & Martin, B. (1986). Ringelmann rediscovered: The original article. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 936941.
Latane ́, B., Williams, K., & Harkins, S. (1979). Many hands make light the work: The causes and consequences of social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 822832.
