What is Social Loafing? Social Loafing is something we have all experienced. Most likely if you don't like group work this is one of the main reasons. “Social load describes the tendency of individuals to make less effort when they are part of a group. Because all group members combine their efforts to achieve a common goal, each group member contributes less than he would if he were individually responsible” (Cherry). This challenges the common belief that teamwork will be more productive. In 1913, a researcher named Ringelmann designed an experiment that involved pulling a string to test the effect of social loafing. His experiment found that when an individual was placed in a group his effort was less. This effect continued to increase as group size increased. Initially, it was debated whether the loss was due to social laziness or loss of coordination. It was only when another experiment was conducted that tricked participants into thinking they were working with a group that Social Loafing was confirmed. There have also been studies showing the opposite effect known as Social Facilitation. Originally research on Social Facilitation began with Zajon, in his research he believed that the presence of others increased the effort of others and therefore generally elicited performance, increasing the individual's out. He theorized that there are several necessary aspects such as simple or familiar tasks. However, if a task is complicated or unfamiliar, increasing group size would hinder productivity by increasing social loafing (Zajonc, 1965). This shows that social loafing is more important than group size, but that there are other factors that contribute to reduced individual performance. C...... half of the document ...... Review and theoretical integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 701.Kugihara, N. (1999). Gender and social laziness in Japan. Journal of Social Psychology, 139, 516-526. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Essential elements of organizational behavior. Harlow England: Pearson Education Limited.Rothwell, D. J. (1999). In the company of others: an introduction to communication. New York: McGraw Hill.Smith, H. (1976). The Russians. New York, New York, United States: New York Balantine Books.Welte, K., & Kunishima, J. (2004). Effects of threats of punishment on social loafing. Journal of Young Investigators .Worchel, S., Rothgerber, H., Day, E., Hart, D., & Butemeyer, J. (1998). Social identity and individual productivity with groups. British Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 389-413. (p. 271). Zajonc, R. B. (1965). Social facilitation. Science , 269-274.