Social Loafing as Affected by Gender
Student's Major
Psychology
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Barry Ries
Mentor's Department
Psychology
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
For decades, social psychologists have been studying the affects of group membership on individual performance (Allport 1925; Dashiell 1930; Triplett 1898; Zajonc 1965). There is a tendency for persons to exert less individual effort when they are working as a group to attain a common goal than they would if working alone to attain the goal. This phenomenon is called social loafing (Latane, Mlliams, & Harkins, 1979). Substantial research conducted in the West indicates that gender may affect the outcome and that women social loaf less than men. In this study, forty male and forty female participants will complete a number/symbol substitution grid. It is hypothesized that participants will complete the task more quickly when working as individuals than they will while working as parts of randomly structured teams. It is also anticipated that there will be further differences in individual and group performances when the task is analyzed according to gender. In this study, it is hypothesized that females will social loaf less than males.
Social Loafing as Affected by Gender
For decades, social psychologists have been studying the affects of group membership on individual performance (Allport 1925; Dashiell 1930; Triplett 1898; Zajonc 1965). There is a tendency for persons to exert less individual effort when they are working as a group to attain a common goal than they would if working alone to attain the goal. This phenomenon is called social loafing (Latane, Mlliams, & Harkins, 1979). Substantial research conducted in the West indicates that gender may affect the outcome and that women social loaf less than men. In this study, forty male and forty female participants will complete a number/symbol substitution grid. It is hypothesized that participants will complete the task more quickly when working as individuals than they will while working as parts of randomly structured teams. It is also anticipated that there will be further differences in individual and group performances when the task is analyzed according to gender. In this study, it is hypothesized that females will social loaf less than males.
