Ms Rashi is doing a group project with her Class 12 students. She notices that while the groups were made by students, still some students have been passive throughout the process and their contribution to the project was negligible. This phenomenon is known as ‘social-loafing’. Which of the following strategies can be used to enhance the participation of all the students?
A. Decreasing the pressure to work hard
B. Strengthening the cohesiveness among students
C. Increasing the importance or value of the task
D. Making the efforts of each student identifiable
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → B, C and D only
Social loafing is a reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task, where outputs are pooled and no one can tell how much each member put in. The remedies work by making each person feel responsible again.
A. Decreasing the pressure to work hard Incorrect. Social loafing is reduced by increasing the pressure to work hard, that is, by making members committed to successful task performance. Less pressure would only give the passive students more room to become free riders.
B. Strengthening the cohesiveness among students Correct. Stronger group cohesiveness increases the motivation for a successful group outcome, so members want the project to do well.
C. Increasing the importance or value of the task Correct. When the task seems more important, members care more about doing it well and put in more effort.
D. Making the efforts of each student identifiable Correct. Loafing happens because individual contributions are not evaluated. Once each student’s work can be seen, no one can hide in the group.
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.…” “Social loafing may be reduced by:
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