Social loafing under fatigue

In 2 experiments, 64 male students worked almost continuously for 20 hr without sleep under varying social conditions. In Experiment 1, participants worked either individually or as a group. As hypothesized, performance deteriorated over time, especially in the group condition, which allowed participants to loaf. In Experiment 2, all participants worked in groups. They were instructed that public feedback would be provided either on the group result only or on the individual results of all group members. As expected, when individual results were made public, performance deteriorated less. Overall, the data suggest that fatigue increases social loafing. However, both individualizing the task and providing public individual feedback seem to counteract these effects.     

Social loafing and self-evaluation with a social standard.

Social loafing has been described as the phenomenon in which participants who work together generate less effort than do participants who work alone (e.g., Latané, Williams, & Harkins, 1979). Subsequent research (Harkins & Jackson, 1985; Williams, Harkins, & Latané, 1981) has shown that a particular aspect of this paradigm leads to the loafing effect. In those studies, the evaluation potential of the experimenter has been emphasized. However, when the experimenter could not evaluate individual outputs, neither could the participants evaluate themselves. In this study we tested the possibility that the opportunity for the participants to evaluate themselves would be sufficient to eliminate the loafing effect. In 2 experiments, the evaluation potential of the experimenter (experimenter evaluation vs. no experimenter evaluation) was crossed with the potential for self-evaluation (self-evaluation vs. no self-evaluation). Consistent with previous loafing research, the potential for evaluation by the experimenter was sufficient to increase motivation, whether participants could self-evaluate or not. However, when the experimenter could not evaluate the participants' outputs, the potential for self-evaluation reliably improved participant performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social loafing: A meta-analytic review and theoretical integration.

Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually. A meta-analysis of 78 studies demonstrates that social loafing is robust and generalizes across tasks and S populations. A large number of variables were found to moderate social loafing. Evaluation potential, expectations of co-worker performance, task meaningfulness, and culture had especially strong influence. These findings are interpreted in the light of a collective effort model that integrates elements of expectancy-value, social identity, and self-validation theories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of group cohesiveness on social loafing and social compensation.

Individuals often engage in social loafing, exerting less effort on collective rather than individual tasks. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that social loafing can be reduced or eliminated when individuals work in cohesive rather than noncohesive groups. In Experiment 1, secretarial students typed both individually and collectively in simulated word-processing pools composed of either friends or strangers. In Experiment 2, dyads composed of either friends or strangers worked either coactively or collectively on an idea-generation task. Both studies supported the group cohesiveness hypothesis. Experiment 2 also suggested that individuals tend to engage in social compensation when working with coworkers who are low in ability. These findings are discussed in relation to S. J. Karau and K. D. Williams's (1993) Collective Effort Model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social loafing on difficult tasks: Working collectively can improve performance.

Investigated the prediction that on difficult tasks (on which high levels of drive result in poor performance) working collectively would result in improved performance. A direct comparison of the methodologies of the social facilitation and social loafing paradigms was used. 48 undergraduate students were involved in the manipulation of 3 group conditions (alone, co-worker, and collective). The tasks involved 2 difficulty levels of computer mazes. Results indicate that Ss tended to perform better individually on simple tasks but better collectively on difficult tasks. Implications for integrating findings in social loafing and social facilitation are discussed. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protestant work ethic moderates social loafing.

Prior research on social loafing has emphasized situational factors and has largely neglected personality influences. The current study attempted to close this gap by exploring the potential for Protestant work ethic (PWE) to reduce or eliminate social loafing. Individuals who had been pretested on PWE were asked to work either coactively or collectively on an idea generation task. As predicted, PWE moderated the effects of work condition on individual effort such that PWE scores were negatively associated with social loafing. These results highlight the potential importance of personality influences on group motivation and suggest that individuals with a strong personal work ethic are unlikely to engage in social loafing. Implications for theory and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Withholding inputs in team contexts: Member composition, interaction processes, evaluation structure, and social loafing.

Social loafing was observed as a naturally occurring process in project teams of students working together for 3-4 months. The authors assessed the contributions that member composition (i.e., relational dissimilarity and knowledge, skills, and abilities; KSAs), perceptions of the team's interaction processes (i.e., dispensability and the fairness of the decision-making procedures), and the team's evaluation structure (i.e., identifiability) make toward understanding loafing behavior. Identifiability moderated the impact of dispensability on loafing but not the impact of fairness on loafing. Perceptions of fairness were negatively related to the extent that participants loafed within their team. Specific aspects of relational dissimilarity were positively associated with perceptions of dispensability and negatively associated with perceptions of fairness, whereas KSAs were negatively associated with perceptions of dispensability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of task difficulty and task uniqueness on social loafing.

Previous research has shown that Ss taking part in either physical or cognitive tasks alone and/or in groups put out less effort in groups, an effect called "social loafing." This loafing can be eliminated by telling Ss that their individual outputs can be identified even when they perform in groups. In 4 experiments with 304 undergraduates, the authors demonstrated that loafing can also be reduced either by increasing the difficulty (challenge) of the task or by giving each S a different task to perform. Despite the fact that these Ss felt as unidentifiable as Ss working on the typical loafing task, they performed as well as Ss with identifiable outputs. It is concluded that when Ss perceive that they can make a unique contribution to a group effort, social loafing is reduced even if individual contributions remain unidentifiable. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy theory: Implications for social facilitation and social loafing.

Two experiments indicate that the areas of social facilitation and social loafing are complementary and can be conceptualized in terms of self-efficacy theory. In Exp 1, efficacy expectancies were manipulated by false performance feedback, and outcome expectancies were manipulated by 3 group conditions (alone, coaction, and collective). In Exp 2, efficacy expectancies developed spontaneously while participants performed easy or difficult tasks, and outcome expectancies were manipulated by 3 evaluative conditions (alone, evaluation, and no evaluation). Consistent with social facilitation research, high efficacy evaluated participants performed better than alone participants, whereas low-efficacy evaluated participants performed worse than alone participants. Consistent with social loafing research, high efficacy nonevaluated participants performed worse than evaluated participants, whereas low-efficacy nonevaluated participants performed better than evaluated participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of social loafing in predeliberation decision making.

The relationship between social loafing and decision making was examined in an individual predeliberation thinking task. Participants (N?=?189) were asked to read information and make decisions ostensibly in order to make a future individual or group decision. Decision type (intellective or judgmental) and anticipated group size (individuals or 4 or 8 members) were manipulated to examine their effect on information recall. Individuals who anticipated working alone or who believed they were making intellective decisions recalled more information than did those who anticipated working in groups or who believed they were making judgmental decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social identification effects in group polarization.

Tested a model of group polarization derived from social identity theory, proposing that if group members conform to group norms, attitude polarization could occur only if group members perceive those norms as more extreme than they "objectively" are. In Exp I, 60 undergraduates perceived attitude-relevant information attributed to speakers who were categorized as a group as representing a more extreme position of the issue than when the same information was attributed to noncategorized individuals. Attitude polarization occurred when Ss believed the information came from their in-group. As predicted, this polarization resulted from Ss' adoption of the "extremitized" in-group norm. In Exp II, categorization was manipulated by focusing 42 Ss on their group performance or on their individual performance. When Ss were focused on their group membership, group norms were perceived as more extreme, and attitude polarization due to conformity to these extremitized norms occurred. When Ss were focused on their individual performance, no extremitization occurred, and attitudes shifted to a more neutral position on the issue. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social influence processes in group brainstorming.

A series of studies examined the role of social influence processes in group brainstorming. Two studies with pairs and 1 with groups of 4 revealed that the performance of participants in interactive groups is more similar than the performance of those in nominal groups. A 4th study demonstrated that performance levels in an initial group session predicted performance on a different problem 2 sessions later. In a 5th study it was found that the productivity gap between an interactive and nominal group could be eliminated by giving interactive group members a performance standard comparable with the typical performance of nominal groups. These studies indicate that performance levels in brainstorming groups are strongly affected by exposure to information about the performance of others. It is proposed that social matching of low performance levels by interactive group members may be an important factor in the productivity loss observed in group brainstorming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support and the effectiveness of group therapy.

Collected self-report data from 37 pretest clients and 26 of the same clients at posttest who participated in 6 counseling center therapy groups. Questionnaires assessed 6 functionally different types of social support provided from 2 sources, therapy group members vs persons outside the group, together with pre- and posttest levels of 3 distress symptoms, which were depression, self-esteem, and psychological symptoms of stress. Significant improvement in symptoms was noted during the 8-wk interventions, and this improvement was related to the availability of social support, depending on the type and source of support. In general, support from sources outside the therapy group appeared to have the most impact. Levels of certain types of support differed in groups depending on whether or not the group was composed of members with a common presenting concern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social sensitivity in the small task-oriented group.

An analysis of variance design is used to investigate the determinants of accuracy in three five-man groups. Analysis is also made of the covariance between accuracy and self-favorability, other-favorability, and similarity of sentiment structure among the Ss. The results show, that estimation of accuracy is a function of (1) characteristics of the estimator, (2) characteristics of the estimatee, (3) the nature of the group and situation, and (4) the particular feelings being estimated. Persons, pairs of persons, and groups whose feelings toward each other are favorable or similar tend to be more accurate in estimating each other's feelings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of personal involvement: Thought-provoking implications for social loafing.

In previous research, the 2nd author and colleagues (see record 1980-30335-001) observed that individuals working together put out less effort than when they work alone; this phenomenon was termed social loafing (SL). Subsequent research by these authors (see record 1981-32831-001) suggested that SL arises, at least in part, because when participants work with others on tasks their individual outputs are lost in the crowd, and, thus, they can receive neither credit nor blame for their performance. The possibility that personal involvement in a task could moderate the SL effect was tested in the present experiment, which used a 2 (high/low involvement)?×?2 (high/low identifiability) factorial design across 3 replications with 224 undergraduates. The task involved thoughts generated in response to a counterattitudinal proposal. Replicating previous SL research, present results show that under conditions of low involvement, Ss whose outputs were identifiable worked harder than those whose outputs were pooled. However, when the task was personally involving, the SL effect was eliminated: Ss whose outputs were pooled worked as hard as those whose individual outputs could be identified. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Equity in effort: An explanation of the social loafing effect.

Previous researchers have demonstrated an effect termed social loafing: People expend less effort when working in groups than when working alone. The explanation of this decrement has been that people can get away with poor performance because their individual outputs are not identifiable; however, holding identifiability constant eliminates the loafing effect. Another possible explanation, which was tested in the present study with 42 female undergraduates, is that people, when working in groups, expect their co-performers to loaf and therefore reduce their own efforts to establish an equitable division of labor. Each S was told that she was going to participate in a test of shouting ability and was given an individual practice trial after being paired with another female confederate who ostensibly was also given an individual trial. When the experimenter left the room, the confederate told S that she had tried hard and would continue to do so or had tried hard but would not continue to do so. In a 3rd condition, the confederate made small talk until the experimenter returned. Results indicate, consistent with the hypothesis tested, that Ss whose original expectations were violated by new information regarding the confederate's intended level of effort matched their own efforts to these new expectations. Ss matched the confederate's level of effort whether their individual outputs were identifiable or not. As with identifiability, holding constant the expectations about partner performance eliminated the loafing effect. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social influence phenomena in a task-oriented group situation.

"The three variables tested were the size of the group, the duration of group participation, and the identifiability of the source of the response standard… . The three experimental hypotheses tested and the results reported for 182 subjects in test groups of 2, 4 and 6 members… . For the particular situation studied, neither group size nor duration of group participation had significant effects on social influence." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social evaluation and the empathy–altruism hypothesis.

Tested the claim of R. L. Archer et al (see record 1982-05783-001) that empathy leads to increased helping only under socially evaluative circumstances. In Exp I, 22 female undergraduates were led to believe that no one (including the person in need) would ever know if they declined to help. In this situation, which was designed to be devoid of the potential for negative social evaluation for not helping, there was still a positive relationship between self-reported empathic emotion and offering help. In Exp II, empathy (low vs high) and social evaluation (low vs high) were manipulated with 32 Ss. Once again there was a positive relationship between empathy and offering help when the potential for social evaluation was low as well as high. Results of both studies suggest that the motivation to help evoked by empathy is not egoistic motivation to avoid negative social evaluation. Instead, the observed pattern was what would be expected if empathy evokes altruistic motivation to reduce the victim's need. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifiability as a deterrant to social loafing: Two cheering experiments.

Two experiments with 156 male undergraduates tested the extent to which the identifiability of one's individual output moderates social loafing—the reduction of individual efforts due to the social presence of others. In the 1st stage of Exp I, Ss were asked to produce noise either alone, in groups of 2 and 6, or in pseudogroups where Ss actually shouted alone but believed that 1 or 5 other people were shouting with them. As in previous research, Ss exerted less effort when they thought that they were shouting in groups than when they shouted alone. In the 2nd stage, the same Ss were led to believe that their outputs would be identifiable even when they cheered in groups. This manipulation eliminated social loafing. Exp II demonstrated that when individual outputs were always identifiable (even in groups), Ss consistently exerted high levels of effort, and if their outputs were never identifiable (even when alone), they consistently exerted low levels of effort across all group sizes. Results suggest that identifiability is an important mediator of social loafing. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Many hands make light the work: The causes and consequences of social loafing.

As reported in summary form by W. Moede (1927), an unpublished study found that in a rope-pulling task, while collective group performance increased somewhat with group size, it was less than the sum of the individual efforts (IE). IE decreased as group size increased. The present 2 experiments with 84 undergraduates investigated this effect using clapping and shouting tasks. Results replicate the earlier findings. The decrease in IE, which is here called social loafing, is in addition to losses due to faulty coordination of group efforts. The experimental generality, theoretical importance, widespread occurrence, and negative social consequences of social loafing are examined, along with ways of minimizing it. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)