What does social loafing describe?

• A. The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort than when individually responsible
• B. The bystander effect in emergencies
• C. Groupthink leading to conformity
• D. Social facilitation increasing performance in groups

Answer: (A)

Social loafing describes the tendency for people to exert less effort when they are part of a group than when they are personally responsible. In a group, individuals may feel their personal contribution is less noticeable or essential, so they scale back effort, assuming others will pick up the slack. This tendency is stronger when contributions are pooled, individual input isn’t easily identifiable, and accountability is unclear. When contributions are identifiable, valued, or evaluated, people tend to maintain or increase their effort, which is why group projects don’t always suffer from loafing if these conditions are present.

To contrast, the bystander effect concerns not helping in emergencies due to diffusion of responsibility; groupthink is about pressure to conform and avoid dissent; and social facilitation is the opposite pattern—improved performance in the presence of others on simple or well-learned tasks.