Ringelmann Revisited

Abstract

Recent work suggests that group members' motivation for certain types of tasks declines as group size increases. Two experiments examined alternative explanations for this effect. The results of the first study disconfirmed the "me first" explanation, which holds that the effect occurs only when an individual performs in several different size groups. The second experiment supported the "hide-in—the crowd"explanation, which holds that member anonymity increases with group size for the tasks which have yielded the effect.