9.2:

9.2: Pigrizia sociale

JoVE Core
Social Psychology

A subscription to JoVE is required to view this content. Sign in or start your free trial.

JoVE Core Social Psychology

Social Loafing

9.1: Social Facilitation

9.3: Group Polarization

34,763 Views

•

01:37 min

•

February 12, 2020

Overview

Another way in which a group presence can affect performance is social loafing—the exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group. Thus, group performance declines on easy tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993). Essentially individual group members loaf and let other group members pick up the slack. Because each individual’s efforts cannot be evaluated, individuals become less motivated to perform well. For example, consider a group of people cooperating to clean litter from the roadside. Some people will exert a great amount of effort, while others will exert little effort. Yet the entire job gets done, and it may not be obvious who worked hard and who didn’t.

As a college student you may have experienced social loafing while working on a group project. Have you ever had to contribute more than your fair share because your fellow group members weren’t putting in the work? This may happen when a professor assigns a group grade instead of individual grades. If the professor doesn’t know how much effort each student contributed to a project, some students may be inclined to let more conscientious students do more of the work. The chance of social loafing in student work groups increases as the size of the group increases (Shepperd & Taylor, 1999).

Interestingly, the opposite of social loafing occurs when the task is complex and difficult (Bond & Titus, 1983; Geen, 1989). Remember the previous discussion of choking under pressure? This happens when you perform a difficult task and your individual performance can be evaluated. In a group setting, such as the student work group, if your individual performance cannot be evaluated, there is less pressure for you to do well, and thus less anxiety or physiological arousal (Latané, Williams, & Harkens, 1979). This puts you in a relaxed state in which you can perform your best, if you choose (Zajonc, 1965). If the task is a difficult one, many people feel motivated and believe that their group needs their input to do well on a challenging project (Jackson & Williams, 1985). Given what you learned about social loafing, what advice would you give a new professor about how to design group projects? If you suggested that individuals’ efforts should not be evaluated, to prevent the anxiety of choking under pressure, but that the task must be challenging, you have a good understanding of the concepts discussed in this section. Alternatively, you can suggest that individuals’ efforts should be evaluated, but the task should be easy so as to facilitate performance. Good luck trying to convince your professor to only assign easy projects.

This text is adapted from OpenStax, Psychology. OpenStax CNX.

Transcript

A volte, in un contesto di gruppo numeroso, come un ambiente di lavoro, alcuni individui possono sentire che qualcun altro contribuirà con uno sforzo maggiore per raggiungere un obiettivo comune, come prendere gli ordini dei clienti.

Questa tendenza è chiamata pigrizia sociale e si riferisce allo sforzo diminuito degli individui che si esibiscono come parte di un gruppo rispetto al potenziale che eserciterebbero da soli.

In altre parole, più persone ci sono, meno duramente lavoreranno ciascuno, che è una relazione inversa tra le dimensioni del team e lo sforzo speso. Questa connessione è anche chiamata effetto Ringelmann, dal nome del ricercatore originale che ha ispirato la ricerca successiva.

Comprendere i fattori che contribuiscono alla pigrizia può aiutare a eliminare il fenomeno e massimizzare il lavoro di squadra.

In un’influenza chiamata diffusione della responsabilità, un individuo può sentirsi meno responsabile, che i suoi sforzi personali non contano davvero per il risultato. Man mano che le dimensioni del gruppo aumentano, possono presumere che altri intraprenderanno le azioni necessarie e i loro contributi individuali sono superflui.

Questi problemi sono il motivo per cui i manager dovrebbero stabilire aspettative chiare per gli standard di prestazione e il raggiungimento degli obiettivi per tutti i soggetti coinvolti.

Un’altra persona potrebbe semplicemente non essere motivata, non è allineata con il gruppo o con un obiettivo più ampio. In questo caso, i superiori potrebbero riconoscere i risultati ottenuti dagli individui per dimostrare che il loro lavoro è apprezzato.

Alla fine, i gruppi coesi possono ottenere di più insieme di quanto farebbero da soli!

Key Terms and definitions

Social Loafing - Exertion of less effort by a person working in a group resulting in performance decline.
Ringelmann Effect - Complex social phenomena where group productivity decreases with increasing group size.
Challenging Team Goals - Goals that motivate collective efforts and reduce social loafing.
Diffusion of Responsibility - Reduced feeling of responsibility in a group leading to decline in effort and performance.
Group Effect - The change in behaviour individuals undergo when they operate in a group.

Learning Objectives

Define Social Loafing – Understand reasons and mechanisms (e.g., social loafing).
Contrast Ringelmann Effect vs Diffusion of Responsibility – Describe key differences (e.g., team size vs responsibility).
Explore Examples – Understand real-life occurrences (e.g., group projects).
Explain Effects of Social Loafing – Understand the decline in group performance.
Apply Social Loafing in Group Work – Learn ways to manage and minimize social loafing.

Questions that this video will help you answer

What is social loafing and how does it affect group performance?
What is the Ringelmann Effect and its relevance to social loafing?
How do challenging team goals affect social loafing?

This video is also useful for

Students – Understand How social loafing impacts performance and group dynamics
Educators – Provides a clear framework to manage group performance and address social loafing
Researchers – Enhance understanding of group dynamics and social psychology
Team Leaders – Offer insights to build efficient teams and mitigate social loafing

Tags

Ozio sociale Impostazione del gruppo Ambiente di lavoro Obiettivo comune Diminuzione dell'impegno Contributo individuale Lavoro di squadra Effetto Ringelmann Fattori che contribuiscono all'ozio Diffusione della responsabilità Dimensione del gruppo Responsabilità Standard di prestazione Raggiungimento degli obiettivi Motivazione Allineamento con gli obiettivi Gruppi coesi