TOEFL Speaking Task 3

In psychology, the term 'social loafing' refers to the tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone. This phenomenon occurs because people feel their individual contributions are less identifiable in a collective setting, leading to reduced motivation. Social loafing can undermine group productivity and is more likely in tasks where each member's performance is not separately evaluated. Researchers have studied this effect in various contexts, such as physical tasks, brainstorming sessions, and even online collaborations.

Professor: Let me give you an example from a classic experiment. Researchers asked participants to pull on a rope attached to a dynamometer to measure their effort. When they pulled alone, they exerted an average force of about 85 kilograms. But when they were blindfolded and told they were pulling as part of a group of five, even though they were actually pulling alone, their force dropped to about 65 kilograms. They didn't see the others, so they knew their effort couldn't be singled out. This shows that just believing you're in a group can trigger social loafing. Another real-world example: in a class project, if a teacher grades the whole group the same, students often admit they slack off because their individual work isn't visible. But if the teacher asks each student to submit a personal reflection or rates each member's contribution, effort increases.