Productivity Loss in Performance Groups: People Who See Themselves as Average Do Not Engage in'Social Loafing

The authors predicted that individuals who see themselves as average (e.g., who have a generalized belief in being no better or worse than others) do not engage in social loafing, unlike those who see themselves as generally superior to others. As expected, study participants who felt uniquely superior expended less effort when working collectively than when working coactively on an easy task, but they actually worked harder collectively than coactively on a more challenging task. Such effects did not occur in participants who perceived themselves as average. Taken together, these findings provide further support for S. J. Karau and K. D. Williams's (1993) collective effort model. They also suggest that what people come to believe about the relation between the self and others is a crucial factor in collective work contexts.

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