TOEFL Speaking 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 less personally accountable for the outcome and believe their contributions are less identifiable. Social loafing often emerges in tasks where group performance is evaluated as a whole, and individual input is not singled out. Researchers have observed this effect across various settings, from physical labor to cognitive tasks. Understanding social loafing is important for designing effective teamwork strategies.

Professor: Let me give you an example from a study I once conducted with my colleagues. We asked students to participate in a rope-pulling task. Each student pulled a rope attached to a machine that measured their force. First, we had them pull alone, and we recorded their individual maximum effort. Then, we had them pull in groups of four, but we told them the group’s total force was being measured. Interestingly, when pulling in the group, each student’s individual effort dropped by about 20% compared to when they pulled alone. They didn’t realize we could measure each person’s contribution secretly. The students said they thought others would pull harder, so they didn’t need to try as much. This clearly shows how people reduce effort when they think their own input is hidden in a group.