Abstract

Decreased performance in group settings, labeled social loafing, has previously been attributed to the lack of identifiability of individual performance. However, some research indicates that the power of identifiability may depend on motivational orientation. The purpose of this laboratory experiment was to understand the effects of different motivational styles on social loafing. Specifically, motivation was thought to moderate the relationship between identifiability of individual outputs and performance. Participants were subjected to a priming manipulation intended to elicit intrinsic or extrinsic motivational states. They also worked under one of three group settings, which were intended to create a condition conducive to social loafing, and two control conditions. It was expected that extrinsically motivated participants working in a group where their individual efforts would be unidentifiable would show the highest levels of social loafing. Results indicate that the priming manipulation was unsuccessful, which explains why the main hypothesis was not supported. The value of using a motivational analysis in social loafing research is discussed.