Cohesion and group dynamics

Task and social cohesion, the Ringelmann effect and social loafing: what makes a team more, or less, than the sum of its players.

The outline, topic by topic

Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.

Task cohesion: what is it?
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How united a group is around shared objectives.
It is linked to performance, as social cohesion is (Carron et al., 2002), and winning in turn strengthens cohesion.
In an eight-person tug-of-war, each person pulls less hard than one-on-one. Which effect?
- The Ringelmann effect
- Social facilitation
- The Köhler effect
- The Pygmalion effect
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The Ringelmann effect
The loss comes from coordination and social loafing.
Social cohesion: what is it?
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How well group members get along and like each other.
A team can win without being a group of friends.
How can social loafing be reduced in training?
- Form bigger groups
- Make each person's contribution visible and measured
- Reward only the team's result
- Set a team goal with no individual marker
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Make each person's contribution visible and measured
When effort is visible, it does not dilute.
Ringelmann effect: what is it?
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Each person's average force falls as more people pull together.
Ringelmann measured it in rope-pulling trials, published in 1913.