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.
PDF: Download
Keywords: social psychology; motivation; social loafing; models of social loafing; individual and group work;
Available Online 01.01.2018
Baron, R., Kerr, N., & Miller, N. (2003) Social Psychology of the Group: Processes, Decisions of Action: Textbook. St. Petersburg: Peter, 272.
Evtikhov, O.B. (2010) Psychology of Personnel Management: Theory and Practice: Textbook. allowance St. Petersburg, Rech’, 319.
Comer, D.R. (1995) A Model of Social Loafing in Real Work Groups. Human Relations. 48(6), 647–667. doi: 10.1177/001872679504800603
Davoudi, S.M., Oraji, S., & Kayr, R. (2012) Social Loafing as a Latent Factor in Organizations: Productivity Loss in Group Work. A Journal of Economics and Management. 1(2), 1–12.
George, J. (1995) Asymmetrical effects of rewards and punishments: the case of social loafing. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 1. Retrieved from: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17837231.html (accessed: 07.10.2017).
Gulevich, O.A. (2011) Social psychology of justice. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo «Institut psihologii RAN», 284.
Harkins, S.G., & Jackson, J.M. (1985) The role of evaluation in eliminating social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 11, 457–465. doi: 10.1177/0146167285114011
Harkins, S.G., & Szymanski, K. (1989) Social Loafing and Group Evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56 (6), 934–941. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.56.6.934
Hassan, E.S. (2010) Investigate the major reasons that increase social loafing in a team to improve morale and team productivity: project Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration. Malaysia, Open University Malaysia.
Hernandez-Pozas, O. (2005) The effect of allocentrism – idiocentrism, long-term relationship and relationship meaningfulness on social loafing: a field – based study. Monterrey, Latin kollokium predoctoral.
Honeywell-Johnson, & J.A., Dickinson A.M. (1999) Small Group Incentives: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 19(2), 89–121. doi: 10.1300/J075v19n02_06
Ingham A.G., Levinger G., Graves J., & Peckham V. (1974) The Ringelmann effect: Studies of group size and group performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 371–384. doi: 10.1016/0022-1031(74)90033-X
Jackson, J.M., & Harkins, S. G. (1985) Equity in Effort: An Explanation of the Social Loafing Effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49 (5), 1199–1206. 10.1037/0022-3514.49.5.1199
Karau, S.J., & Williams, K.D. (1993) Social Loafing: A meta – analytic review and theoretical integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(4), 681–706. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.65.4.681
Karau, S.J., & Williams K.D. (1991) Social Loafing and Social Compensation: The Effects of Expectations of Co-Worker Performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 4, 570–581.
Karau, S.J., & Williams, K.D. (1995) Social Loafing: Research Findings, Implications and Future Directions. Cambridge University Press, 1–8. doi: 10.1111/1467-8721.ep10772570
Kerr, N.L., & Bruun, S. E. (1983) Dispensability of Member Effort and Group Motivation Losses: Free-Rider Effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44 (1), 78–94. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.78
Kholodkov, A.V. (2008) Features of personnel motivation of large industrial enterprises. [Zhurnal upravlenija personalom]. 12. Retrieved from: http://www.top-personal.ru/issue.html?1644 (accessed: August 2, 2015).
Kidwell, R.E., & Bennett, N. (1993) Employee Propensity to withhold effort: a Conceptual Model to Intersect Three Avenues of Research. Academy of Management Review, 18 (3), 429-456.
Kravitz, D.A., & Martin, B. (1986) Ringelmann Rediscovered: The Original Article. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50 (5), 936–941/ doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.50.5.936
Latane’, B., Williams, K., & Harkins, S. (1979) Many Hands Make Light the Work: The Causes and Consequences of Social Loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37 (6), 822–832. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.6.822
Liden, R.C., Wayne, S.J., Jaworski, R.A., & Bennett, N. (2004) Social Loafing: A Field Investigation. Journal of Management, 30(2), 285–304. doi: 10.1016/j.jm.2003.02.002
Oyster, C. (2004) Groups: a user’s guide. St. Petersburg, Praim-EVROZNAK, 224.
Olson, M. (1995) Logic of collective action. Public goods and group theory. Moscow, Fond Ekonomicheskoy Initsiativy, 165.
Peterson, C., Zaccaro, S.J., & Daly, D.C. (1986) Learned Helplessness and the Generality of Social Loafing. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 10(5), 563–570. doi: 10.1007/BF01177819
Piezon, S.L., & Ferree, S. L. (2008) Perceptions of Social Loafing in Online Learning Groups: A study of Public University and U.S. Naval War College students. IRRODL. The international review of research in open and distance learning. 9 (2), Retrieved from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/ article/view/484/1034. (accessed: 07.10.2017).
Semechkin, N.I., & Stratilat, K.N. (2013) Social policy and its relation to dispositional characteristics of the individual: a review of foreign research. [Gumanitarnye issledovaniya v Vostochnoy Sibiri i na Dal’nem Vostoke], 6 (26), 84–89.
Shepperd, J.A., & Taylor, K.M. (1999) Social Loafing and Expectancy-Value Theory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25 (9), 1147–1158. doi: 10.1177/01461672992512008
Stratilat, K.N., & Semechkin, N.I. (2013) Gender differences in the manifestation of social indolence: a revision of the problem. [Psikhologiya. Zhurnal Vysshey shkoly ekonomiki], 10(4), 169–181.
Stratilat, K.N. (2015) Studying the phenomenon of social loafing in national psychology. SCI-ARTICLE. 27. Retrieved from: http://sci-article.ru/stat.php?i=1447132481 – (accessed: June 25, 2016).
Stratilat, K.N., & Semechkin, N.I. (2014) Cross-cultural studies of social laziness. [Vestnik Permskogo universiteta]. Philosophy. Psychology. Sociology. 1 (17), 122-128.
Stratilat, K.N., & Semechkin, N.I. (2015) Experience in the experimental study of social laziness on a sample of Russian men and women. [Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta]. Series 14. Psychology, 1, 124–132.
Szymanski, K., & Harkins, S.G. (1987) Social Loafing and Self-Evaluation With a Social Standard. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 53 (5), 891–897. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.53.5.891
Vermeulen, P., Vissers, G., & Benders, J. (2004) Do Loafers Shirk? The relation between team performance and individual effort: Fourth International Workshop on Teamworking. Nijmegen.
Zhu, М. (2013) Perception of Social Loafing, Conflict and Emotion in the Process of Group Development: Dissertation. In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Minnesota, University of Minnesota.
Stratilat K.N. (2017). Models of the origin of the social loafing phenomenon. National Psychological Journal, 4, 57–66.