Motivation gains in performance groups: paradigmatic and theoretical developments on the Köhler effect.

In contrast to many demonstrations of social loafing, relatively few studies have documented group motivation gains. One such exception was O. Köhler's (1926, 1927) finding that team members working together did better at a taxing persistence task than would be expected from their individual performances, particularly when there was a moderate discrepancy in coworkers' capabilities. In Experiment 1, we developed a paradigm within which Köhler's overall motivation gain effect could be replicated, although the discrepancy in coworkers' capabilities did not moderate these motivation gains (after statistical artifacts were taken into account). Experiment 2 indicated that this motivation gain occurred under conjunctive but not under additive task demands, suggesting that the instrumentality of one's contribution to valued outcomes is a more likely explanation of the Köhler effect than social comparison processes.

[1]  J. Hackman,et al.  Group tasks, group interaction process, and group performance effectiveness: A review and proposed integration , 1975 .

[2]  S. Karau,et al.  Social loafing and social compensation: the effects of expectations of co-worker performance. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[3]  David A. Kravitz,et al.  Ringelmann rediscovered: the original article , 1986 .

[4]  N. Kerr.  Motivation losses in small groups: a social dilemma analysis , 1983 .

[5]  Audrey J. Murrell,et al.  Reducing intergroup bias: The benefits of recategorization. , 1989 .

[6]  A. Ingham,et al.  The Ringelmann effect: Studies of group size and group performance , 1974 .

[7]  Richard L. Moreland,et al.  Back to the Future: Social Psychological Research on Groups , 1994 .

[8]  N. Kerr,et al.  Sex Composition of Groups and Member Motivation II. Effects of Relative Task Ability. , 1984 .

[9]  Robert S. Baron,et al.  Distraction-Conflict Theory: Progress and Problems , 1986, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.

[10]  S. Harkins,et al.  Effects of task difficulty and task uniqueness on social loafing. , 1982 .

[11]  V. Vroom.  Work and motivation , 1964 .

[12]  R. Wyer,et al.  Mood as Input: People Have to Interpret the Motivational Implications of Their Moods Moods and Processing , 2022 .

[13]  Michael H. Kutner.  Applied Linear Statistical Models , 1974 .

[14]  Bruno S. Frey,et al.  Self‐interest and collective action: The economics and psychology of public goods , 1982 .

[15]  Kipling D. Williams,et al.  PROCESSES Social Loafing: A Meta-Analytic Review and Theoretical Integration , 2022 .

[16]  Ido Erev,et al.  Constructive Intergroup Competition as a Solution to the Free Rider Problem: A Field Experiment , 1993 .

[17]  N. Triplett,et al.  The Dynamogenic Factors in Pacemaking and Competition , 1898 .

[18]  I. Steiner.  Group process and productivity , 1972 .

[19]  S. Karau,et al.  Understanding individual motivation in groups: The collective effort model. , 2001 .

[20]  B. Latané.  The psychology of social impact. , 1981 .

[21]  N. Kerr,et al.  Dispensability of member effort and group motivation losses: Free-rider effects , 1983 .

[22]  N. Kerr,et al.  Group Process, Group Decision, Group Action , 1992 .

[23]  Tamao Matsui,et al.  Effects of goals and feedback on performance in groups. , 1987 .

[24]  S. Harkins,et al.  Social loafing and group evaluation. , 1989 .

[25]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[26]  Erich H. Witte.  Köhler rediscovered: The anti‐ringelmann effect , 1989 .

[27]  Otto Köhler,et al.  Über den Gruppenwirkungsgrad der menschlichen Körperarbeit und die Bedingung optimaler Kollektivkraftreaktion , 1927 .

[28]  Michael Diehl,et al.  Social Compensation and the Köhler Effect: Toward a Theoretical Explanation of Motivation Gains in Group Productivity , 2018, Understanding Group Behavior.

[29]  J. Shepperd.  Productivity loss in performance groups: A motivation analysis. , 1993 .

[30]  Elliot Aronson,et al.  The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. , 1959 .

[31]  Mary T. Dzindolet,et al.  Social influence processes in group brainstorming. , 1993 .

[32]  K. Williams,et al.  Many Hands Make Light the Work: The Causes and Consequences of Social Loafing , 1979 .

[33]  E. Higgins,et al.  Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles. , 1996 .

[34]  G. Clore,et al.  Feelings and phenomenal experiences , 1996 .

[35]  N. Kerr,et al.  Group sex composition and member task motivation , 1983 .