While lifting the table in the classroom, you observe one child becomes a free rider and puts less effort. This is due to __________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Social loafing
Option (1) Group polarisation — Incorrect. It is the tendency of groups to take more extreme decisions than individuals alone; a view the members already share grows stronger after discussion. It concerns decisions, not effort on a shared task.
Option (2) Compliance — Incorrect. Compliance means behaving in response to a request from another person or group even in the absence of a norm, as when we buy something only because a salesperson asked. Nobody requested the child to slacken.
Option (3) Social loafing — Correct. Social loafing is a reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task, one in which outputs are pooled. As in a tug-of-war, nobody can tell how much force each member is putting in, so a member gets the chance to relax and become a free rider. Lifting a table together is such a task.
Option (4) Conformity — Incorrect. Conformity is following the norms of the group so as not to look different; it is the most indirect form of social influence. The child is not following any norm by working less.
Note: The concepts in Options (2) and (4), ‘compliance’ and ‘conformity’, are not explained in NCERT (2025-26); they were explained in the chapter ‘Social Influence and Group Processes’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT and are explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2025-26): “Social Loafing … Social loafing is a reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task, i.e. one in which outputs are pooled with those of other group members. An example of such a task is the game of tug-of-war. It is not possible for you to identify how much force each member of the team has been exerting. Such situations give opportunities to group members to relax and become a free rider.…” “Group Polarisation … Groups show another tendency referred to as ‘group polarisation’. It has been found that groups are more likely to take extreme decisions than individuals alone.…” |