University students were observed to pull harder on a rope when they thought they were pulling alone than when they thought three others were pulling with them on the same rope. This best illustrates:

Social loafing refers to how we tend to put less effort when we are doing something in a group, this means we do less than what we would do if we were doing that thing alone.

This occurs because we believe everyone is putting their effort hence we don't need to put 100%

Since in a group there is a sharing of different skills , abilities and talents we always feel that even if we put less effort the strength of the collected group will not suffer because one person.

Consequences of Social Loafing

Social loafing has its disadvantages for a group and for the person who is doing it , the dynamic of the group get impacted and also that person who contributed less is seen as a weak individual. It results to a lack of cohesion within the group members.

Resentment and conflict may arise which may impact the quality of the work produced by the group.