How Social Loafing Is Studied in Psychology

Social loafing describes the tendency of individuals to exert less effort when they are part of a group. Because all members of the group are directing their efforts toward achieving a common goal, each member contributes less than if he or she were individually responsible.

Here we discuss how researchers have studied social laughter and what we have learned from these psychology experiments. We also discuss the reasons why people may reduce their effort when in a group, as well as how to reduce this effect.

An example of social laughing

Before discussing the research, it is helpful to understand what social laughing is. Here is an example to consider.

Imagine that you are a student. If your teacher assigns you a project, you can break it down into actionable steps and start right away. You are responsible for the entire assignment, so you start taking the necessary steps to complete it.

Now imagine that, instead of this being a solo project, your teacher assigned you to work with 10 other students. Since you are part of a group, the tendency for social laughing suggests that you will put less effort into the project.

For example, instead of taking responsibility for certain tasks, you may assume that another group member will take care of them. In some cases, other members of the group may assume the same, and you are stuck doing the whole assignment by yourself.

Rangelman’s Rope Pulling Experiments

The first experiments in social loafing were carried out in 1913 by the French agricultural engineer, Max Ringelmann. Ringelman asked participants to pull a rope individually and in groups. He found that when part of a group, people put in less effort than when working individually.

In 1974, a group of researchers replicated Ringlemann’s experiment, with some minor changes. A panel of participants was similar to Rangelman’s original study and included smaller groups of subjects. The second panel consisted of only one real participant. The rest were Confederates who merely pretended to pull the rope.

The researchers found that groups consisting of all real participants experienced the greatest decline in performance. This suggested that the losses were linked to motivational factors rather than group coordination problems.

Additional social loafing experiences

Researchers continue to study social laughing to learn more about it, including whether certain factors can affect a person’s level of effort when in a group. For example, in a 2005 study, it was discovered that group size can have a powerful effect on group performance.

In this study, half of the groups consisted of four people while the other half consisted of eight. Researchers found that people maximized individual effort when in small groups.

In a 2013 study, researchers added to our knowledge bank by finding that group members’ personality traits can also influence social loafing. This piece of research found that when a team had more honesty and consensus, members compensated for social loafing, resulting in higher team performance.

Research published in 2016 further suggests that social laughing also exists in online communities. It has been suggested that this is because people may not participate more in online groups, being “likers” rather than active participants.

Causes of Social Loafing

Those of us who have ever worked as part of a group have undoubtedly experienced this psychological phenomenon. And those of us who have ever led groups have been frustrated by the lack of effort that group members sometimes put forth.

Why does social loafing occur? Psychologists have come up with some possible explanations:

• Motivation (or lack thereof): People who are less motivated by a task engage in social laughing when they are part of a group.
• Diffusion of responsibility: People are more likely to engage in social loafing if they feel less personally accountable for a task and know that their efforts have little impact on the overall outcome. The concept is also often used to explain the bystander effect, or how a person in need is less likely to help when others are present.
• Group size: In small groups, people are more likely to feel that their efforts are more important and, therefore, will contribute more. However, the larger the group the greater the individual effort.
• Expectations: If it is expected that others in a group will also finish, one person will probably do the same because they don’t want to be stuck doing all the work. On the other hand, if in a group of top shareholders who control everything, one person may be more likely to step back and let others take over.

How to reduce social loafing

Social loafing can have a serious impact on group efficiency and effectiveness. However, some steps can be taken to help minimize its effects, such as:

• Assigning individual tasks and responsibilities
• Forming small groups with individual accountability of each member
• Establish clear criteria and rules
• Assessing individual and group performance
• Highlighting the achievements of individual members