Social Factors of Crowd & Collective Behaviour

• What is social loafing?

  Putting less effort in a group task
• How does social loafing relate to deindividuation?

  It allows effort to go unnoticed in a crowd
• Who conducted early research on social loafing?

  Ringlemann
• What did Ringlemann's research find about effort in groups?

  Effort decreases as group size increases
• What percentage of effort does an individual exert when pulling alone according to Ringlemann?

  98%
• What happens to individual effort when three people pull on a rope?

  It drops to 85% of potential
• What is the Ringlemann effect?

  Decreased effort in larger groups
• What did Ingham et al. investigate regarding the Ringlemann effect?

  Loss of coordination or motivation
• What conclusion did Ingham reach about effort decrease?

  It was due to loss of motivation
• How did Latane et al. investigate social loafing?

  Participants clapped and shouted in groups
• What was the average individual effort when six people clapped and shouted?

  40%
• Why might social loafing occur?

  People think others will cover their effort
• What happens to effort when individuals know they are being observed?

  Their effort increases
• What does culture refer to in this context?

  Products of socialization in society
• How is culture manifested outwardly?

  Through food, song, dance, and rituals
• What is one broad cultural dimension mentioned?

  Individualism/collectivism
• What characterizes individualistic cultures?

  Emphasis on 'I' and independence
• Which countries are examples of individualistic cultures?

  USA, UK, and Western European countries
• What characterizes collectivist cultures?

  Emphasis on 'we' and interdependence
• Which countries are examples of collectivist cultures?

  China, India, and Southeast Asian countries
• Why is social loafing less likely in collectivist cultures?

  Emphasis on group effort and cooperation
• What did Earley (1989) find about effort in tasks?

  USA participants worked harder when judged individually
• What is a strength of understanding social loafing and deindividuation?

  It can enhance employee productivity
• How can cultural differences theory of social loafing be applied?

  It may explain hard work in emerging economies
• What is a weakness of measuring social loafing?

  It is difficult to operationalize
• What did Clark & Baker (2011) find about Chinese students in group projects?

  They were aware of unequal contributions
• What might Chinese international students operate under?

  A different set of cultural values