t (Harkins, Latane, & Williams, 1980; Harkins & Petty, 1982; Ingham, Levinger, Graves, & Peckham, 1974; Kerr, 1983; Kerr & Bruun, 1981) and cognitive effort (Harkins & Petty, 1982; Petty, Harkins, & Williams, 1980; Price, 1987; Weldon & Gargano, 1985; Weldon & Mustari, 1988).(3) To assist groups in avoiding this process threat of reduced effort, which, in turn, impedes group (and organizational) productivity, it is first necessary to understand factors that may contribute to it.
This paper reviews the literature on social loafing, highlighting those factors promoting member reduction of effort toward group tasks. First is a review of research on factors that research has consistently linked with social loafing, such as potential for evaluation of contributions and perceived dispensability of effort. Then, the contributions to social loafing of less extensively studied factors, such as perceived lack of influence over task outcomes and the wish to avoid the sucker role are conside
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