TOEFL Speaking Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'social loafing' refers to the tendency of individuals to exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone. This phenomenon occurs because people feel less accountable for the final outcome and believe their personal contribution is less identifiable. Social loafing can reduce overall group productivity and is more likely to occur in large groups where individual performance is not easily monitored. Researchers have studied this effect to understand how to mitigate it in teamwork settings.

Professor: To illustrate social loafing, let me tell you about an experiment we did in my class. I divided students into two groups. In the first group, each student was asked to clap and shout as loudly as possible alone, and we measured the sound level. In the second group, students did the same task but as part of a group of six, and again we measured the total sound level. Interestingly, when we divided the total sound by the number of people, the average sound per person in the group was much lower than when they performed alone. For example, one student produced 80 decibels alone, but when in the group, his contribution was only about 40 decibels. He wasn’t lazy intentionally; he just felt less responsible because his individual effort was hidden in the group noise. This clearly demonstrates social loafing.