Question

A teacher 'X' found that the project that she/he gave to a group of students, when submitted to her/him, lacked quality as compared to the ones submitted by individual students. What is the reason for this phenomenon and how can it be reduced? Discuss.

Answer 1

The phenomenon is Social Loafing which is a reduction in an individual effort when working on a collective task, one in which outputs are pooled with those of other group members.

This phenomenon is influenced by the following factors:

1. Since they feel less responsible for the overall task at hand, group members put forth less effort.
2. As members become aware that their efforts won't be evaluated individually, their motivation begins to wane.
3. It is inappropriate to evaluate the group's performance in relation to other groups.
4. The members' coordination is lacking or inadequate.
5. Being a part of the same group is not significant to members. Simply put, a number of people are involved.

Social loafing may be reduced by:

1. Making the efforts of each person identifiable.
2. Increasing the pressure to work hard (making group members committed to successful task performance).
3. Increasing the apparent importance or value of a task.
4. Making people feel that their individual contribution is important.
5. Strengthening group cohesiveness which increases the motivation for successful group outcomes.