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Национальный психологический журнал

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social loafing

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Stratilat K.N. (2017). Models of the origin of the social loafing phenomenon. National Psychological Journal, 4, 57–66.

Relevance. Foreign scientists have developed several models of the emergence of social loafing. These models are widely presented in foreign psychological and management literature. Russian scientists when considering the phenomenon of social loafing does not even mention the existence of these models. In connection with this situation is very important to produce translations into Russian language of the common models of the emergence of social loafing and to perform them. Knowledge of models of social loafing will help competently conduct theoretical and empirical researches of the phenomenon under consideration and manage it.

The objective of the theoretical study is to facilitate provision of fundamental and objective knowledge of social loafing to scientists and practitioners who study groups or work with them. Knowledge of models of social loafing will help competently conduct theoretical and empirical researches of the phenomenon under consideration and manage it. 

Description of the course of theoretical research. The article considers the following foreign models of the origin of social loafing: R. E. Kidwell and N. Bennett’s model (1993), the collective effort model by S. J. Karau and K. D. Williams (1993), D. R. Comer’s model (1995) and S. M. Davoudi and his colleages’ model (2012). The author of the article indicates limitations of the research conducted and outlines variants of the future researches on the concerned problem. 

Conclusions. On the basis of the analysis of the foreign models the author reaches several conclusions. Firstly, almost all the models indicate only motivational causes of social loafing while coordinating causes are omitted. Such an approach is not entirely proper as a number of empirical researches revealed that social loafing emerges due to both coordinating and motivational causes. Secondly, the authors of almost all the models refer to deindividualising of personality and social comparison as motivational causes of social loafing. Thirdly, almost all the models do not distinguish between causes and factors of social loafing. This approach is not entirely justified as implies causation while factors suggest correlation. Fourthly, almost all the models consider situational factors of social loafing while dispositional factors are ignored. Finally, all the models do not exhaustively describe causes and factors of the phenomenon under consideration.

Received: 06/26/2017

Accepted: 07/12/2017

Pages: 57-66

DOI: 10.11621/npj.2017.0405

Keywords: social psychology; motivation; social loafing; models of social loafing; individual and group work;

By: ;

Available Online: 01/01/2018