What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine whether group members reduce their effort when they perceive their contributions to be dispensable for group success, creating free-rider effects.

January 1, 1983Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Dispensability of member effort and group motivation losses: Free-rider effects.

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

NKNorbert L. KerrMichigan State University SBSteven E. BruunUniversity of California, San Diego

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Experimental study reveals decreased motivation among group members as individual effort dispensability increases, indicating that task demands and group size drive free-rider effects.

Key Points

To examine whether group members reduce their effort when they perceive their contributions to be dispensable for group success, creating free-rider effects.
Conducted three laboratory experiments among undergraduate participants (Experiment I: N=189; Experiment II: N=73; Experiment III: N=108).
Manipulated group size (2, 4, or 8 persons), individual ability levels (high vs. low), and task demands (additive, conjunctive, or disjunctive).
Maintained individual member identifiability across conditions and varied the delivery of performance feedback.
Member ability produced opposite effects on effort under disjunctive versus conjunctive task conditions in Experiment I.
Member motivation declined as group size increased for conjunctive and disjunctive tasks in Experiment II, occurring independently of social loafing because individual outputs were fully identifiable.
Performance feedback clarified the dispensability of individual efforts in Experiment III, reinforcing motivation losses and promoting free-rider behavior.

Cite This Study

Kerr et al. (1983) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a11e70c157ff1551221bf4c https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.78

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Implication

Experimental study reveals decreased motivation among group members as individual effort dispensability increases, indicating that task demands and group size drive free-rider effects.

Dispensability of member effort and group motivation losses: Free-rider effects.

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Dispensability of member effort and group motivation losses: Free-rider effects.

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider