托福口语 Task 3

Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone. This phenomenon occurs because individual contributions become less identifiable, and people may feel that their efforts are dispensable. Social loafing can reduce overall group productivity and is more likely to occur in larger groups or when tasks are simple and repetitive. However, research shows that making individual contributions visible or increasing task meaningfulness can reduce this effect.

Professor: So, let me give you an example from a real classroom. I once had students form groups to prepare a presentation. In one group of five, they had to write a report together. I noticed that two students did almost all the work, while the other three barely contributed. They just came to meetings but didn't offer ideas or do research. When I asked why, they said they thought the others would handle it. This is a classic case of social loafing—they felt their individual input wasn't needed because the group was large and their effort wasn't easily seen. To fix this, I changed the assignment: each student had to submit a specific section with their name on it. Suddenly, everyone worked harder because their contribution became visible and personally accountable.