SOH-shuhl LOH-fing
/ˈsoʊ.ʃəl ˈloʊ.fɪŋ/
nounB2GREAP PsychologyGMAT
AcademicProfessional
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.
Occurs specifically because personal accountability decreases when individual efforts are merged into a collective pool.
The story behind the word. Coined by psychologist Bibb Latané and colleagues in 1979 to label the reduction in individual productivity observed in combined group efforts, adapting the colloquial English verb 'loaf'.
Word relationships
- free-riding: Free-riding means contributing nothing at all, whereas social loafing is exerting reduced effort.
- social facilitation: Social facilitation is improved effort or performance caused by the presence of others.
Commonly confused with
- Social facilitation: Social loafing lowers individual effort in unmonitored group work; social facilitation boosts performance when individual actions are observed.
Word family
- social loafer (noun): A team member who exerts reduced effort during collective tasks.
Collocations
- combat social loafing
- phenomenon of social loafing
- prevent social loafing
Idioms & expressions
- free rider
- coasting on others
Example sentences
- "Max Ringelmann first documented social loafing when he noticed people pulled less hard on a rope in group tug-of-war than when pulling alone." Psychology Foundations
- "To prevent social loafing, team managers establish clear individual metrics within collaborative assignments." Project Management
Memory hook
Loafing around on the sofa while your team works hard on the presentation. Slacking in the group.
When not to use
Do not use to describe general laziness in a single worker operating individually.
Fun facts
- Social loafing virtually vanishes as soon as individual performance metrics are made visible to peers.
Social loafing
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.
Occurs specifically because personal accountability decreases when individual efforts are merged into a collective pool.
Word relationships
Commonly confused with
Word family
Collocations
Idioms & expressions
Example sentences
Memory hook
Loafing around on the sofa while your team works hard on the presentation. Slacking in the group.
When not to use
Do not use to describe general laziness in a single worker operating individually.
Fun facts
Related words
Social facilitation, Deindividuation, Cohesion
Explore more words
groupthink, free-rider, slacker, individualism, accountability, slothful