Which of the following team-based interventions can effectively reduce the effects of social loafing?

Social loafing declines when each member knows that his or her individual effort will be examined and tied to consequences. Interventions that clarify personal goals, assign unique tasks, and publicize individual performance scores heighten accountability cues, making it psychologically harder to hide behind the group and thereby reducing loafing.

A. Larger teams dilute visibility of individual effort, typically increasing rather than reducing loafing.

B. Anonymity removes personal responsibility cues and seldom deters loafing.

D. Team-building can improve cohesion but does not directly target individual accountability that underlies loafing.

1. Karau, S., & Williams, K. “Social Loafing: A Meta-Analytic Review and Theoretical Integration,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(4), 1993, pp. 681-683.

2. Gomes, R., Zagenczyk, T., & Tian, Q. “Accountability and Social Loafing in Teams,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(9), 2019, pp. 1144-1146, https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000401.

3. MIT OpenCourseWare. “15.301 Managerial Psychology: Teams and Social Loafing,” Lecture Notes 12, 2017.