托福口语 Task 3

Social loafing is a phenomenon in which individuals exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone. This occurs because people feel their individual contributions are less noticeable or less essential in a collective setting, leading to reduced motivation. Social loafing is more likely in large groups where accountability is diffused, and it can lower overall group productivity. Understanding this concept is important for designing tasks that maintain individual responsibility and engagement.

Professor: Now, let me give you an example from a real classroom. In one of my psychology classes, I assigned a group project where each group had to write a report on a different theory. I made five groups, each with six students. I told them they would receive one grade for the whole group, and I would not track individual contributions. Interestingly, when I observed the groups, a few students did most of the work while others just sat back and contributed very little. For instance, one student named Mark barely participated in the discussions and only wrote a short paragraph at the end. However, when I later gave the same students an individual quiz on the material, Mark performed poorly, showing he hadn’t engaged with the content. In contrast, in another assignment, I had students work alone on a short essay, and Mark wrote a detailed, thoughtful piece. This shows that when he was alone, he put in full effort, but in the group, he slacked off because his lack of contribution was hidden by the group’s overall grade.