Social Loafing in Cross-Cultural Perspective, Research Paper Example

Abstract

The paper discusses the concept of social loafing through the prism of cross-cultural perspectives. The paper refers to the results and findings of previous researches. The effect of cultural values on incidence and scope of social loafing is identified. The paper confirms social loafing as a result of cultural influences.

Introduction

Recent years were marked with the growing interest toward the issues and factors of group performance. Group performance, motivation, individual factors, communication, and culture – all these have become the issues of the major psychological and organizational concern. However, with the emergence of the new professional vision, researchers became particularly attentive to why people in group tend to perform less effectively than when performing alone. Because these negative trends in groups questioned the relevance of any group-based work, it was critical to examine the roots of such underachievement in groups. As a result, the new concept of social loafing was designed to explain these behavioral changes. Consequentially, culture became one of the dominant factors of social loafing in groups.

Social loafing is generally defined as “the reduced performance of individuals who act as part of a group rather than alone. Individuals who believe that they are taking part in a task with others reduce their performance, independent of any potential loss attributable to distraction or lack of coordination during actual group performance” (Earley, 1989). The topic of social loafing is not new but what does it have to do with culture? Recent researches show culture as the dominant factor of social loafing in groups: under the pressure of individualism vs. collectivism and power distance cultural values, individuals will be more or less likely to exhibit social loafing (Atoum & Farah, 2001; Earley, 1989; Klehe & Anderson, 2007). For these reasons, researchers suggest that not all cultures will favor the development of social loafing attitudes in individuals (Earley, 1989).

To begin with, the cultural balance of individualism and collectivism and its impact on individual and cultural perceptions is well recognized. The fact is in that individual and group behaviors are predetermined by a set of norms and social standards which, in their turn, are shaped by cultural factors. This also means that whether individuals exhibit or do not exhibit social loafing depends on the culture, to which they belong. As such, Earley (1989) shows social loafing as the direct product of individualistic culture and as the concept that does not fit in collectivist cultural expectations. His research of Chinese and U.S. groups reveals the hidden facets of social loafing in cross cultural perspective. First of all, the balance of individualism and collectivism varies significantly across cultures (Earley, 1989). Depending on what value dominates, group participants will either seek to focus on self-orientation or will emphasize the importance of collective thinking (Earley, 1989). Second, in a collective society, individuals will be more likely to sacrifice their own values for the sake of group achievements, while individualistic cultures will pressure individuals to quit group membership for the sake of self-sufficiency and the pursuit of specific individual goals (Earley, 1989). In this situation, collectivists will be less likely to exhibit social loafing in organizational settings as compared to individualists. For example, in China, where collectivist values are welcomed and encouraged, social loafing is practically absent: Chinese people do realize the value of their individual contribution to group performance and gain a feeling of satisfaction when achieving group goals (Earley, 1989). Moreover, they also expect that other group members will make the same or even greater contribution to group accomplishments (Earley, 1989). In individualistic cultures, group performance principles go against the principles of self-interest and self-achievement and such cultures exhibit an increasingly high level of social loafing (Earley, 1989). However, understanding these cultural influences is impossible without understanding the impact of power distance cultural values on group performance.

According to Klehe and Anderson (2007), power distance is the critical element of social loafing across cultures. Moreover, the authors assert that “it is not individualism vs collectivism that accounts for found cultural differences in social loafing […] but power distance” (Klehe and Anderson, 2007). According to Earley (1989), those belonging to eastern cultures were less susceptible to the risks of social loafing due to the growing importance of collectivism. Nevertheless, Klehe and Anderson (2007) show eastern cultures as those, which promote higher level of power distance, which, in its turn, becomes the source of beneficial motivational effects in groups. Regardless of whether one speaks about power distance or collectivism vs individualism, it is clear that the scope of social loafing behaviors varies across cultures, but is it possible to say (according to Earley, 1989) that, based on these findings, social loafing is characteristic of only a few cultures? This idea deserves attention, because cultures that value collectivism and high levels of power distance do not welcome social loafing. However, as cultures merge, they move closer to individualistic beliefs and as a result, individuals in these cultures start to exhibit higher levels of social loafing.

In their research, Atoum and Farah (2001) analyze social loafing and personal involvement among college students in Jordan. The results of the study show the growing generalizability of social loafing concept across cultures. The authors assert that “a new emphasis on individualistic, rather than traditional, values may be attributable to the social, economic, and political changes experienced by Jordan and other Moslem countries in the last decade” (Atoum & Fahad, 2001). These results confirm the dominant influence of culture on social loafing. More importantly, in the context of globalization and cultural unification, future researches must concentrate on the changes that currently occur in eastern and western cultures, and the pressures these changes exert on the vision of group work and social loafing in different social environments.

Conclusion

The concept of social loafing was designed to explain why group members tend to show lower quality of performance as compared to when they perform alone. That social loafing varies significantly across cultures is a well-recognized fact. Collectivist cultures and high levels of power distance are associated with low levels of social loafing in groups, while in individualistic cultures social loafing is the essential component of any group-based work. However, as cultures merge, social loafing gradually turns into a general trend. For these reasons, further researches should concentrate on the growing generalizability of social loafing across cultures.

References

Atoum, A.O. & Farah, A.M. (2001). Social loafing and personal involvement among Jordanian college students. The Journal of Social Psychology, 133 (6): 785-789.

Earley, P.C. (1989). Social loafing and collectivism: A comparison of the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34 (4): 565-581.  

Klehe, U.C. & Anderson, N. (2007). The moderating influence of personality and culture on social loafing in typical versus maximum performance. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 15 (2): 250-262.