Ringelmann Effect
QUOTE
Vince Lombardi once said…
“Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
CONCEPT
Ringelmann Effect
The Ringelmann Effect is a phenomenon in social psychology that observes that the individual productivity of a person decreases as the size of their group increases.
Named after Maximilien Ringelmann, a French agricultural engineer, this effect is often explained by two key factors: loss of motivation and poor coordination.
In larger groups, people tend to feel less individually accountable and may decrease their effort, a behavior known as social loafing. Furthermore, large groups often struggle with coordinating efforts effectively, which can lead to reduced overall efficiency.
STORY
More Is Better ... Right?
An enlightening example of the Ringelmann Effect came to the forefront during a research project conducted by Alan Ingham and colleagues in 1974. The experiment sought to measure the effort exerted by people when they were pulling on a rope, both as individuals and as members of a group.
When individuals pulled on the rope alone, their efforts were consistent and measurable. However, when people were grouped together to pull the rope, something intriguing happened.
The researchers found that the collective force exerted by the group was less than the sum of their individual efforts.
For instance, when one person was pulling, they contributed 100% of their potential effort. However, when two people pulled together, each person only contributed about 93% of their potential effort. When eight people pulled together, the decline was even more noticeable—each person contributed only about 49% of their potential effort.
Ingham and crew concluded that as the size of the group increased, the individual effort decreased.
The experiment highlighted that while teamwork is essential, a larger team does not necessarily equate to greater productivity. It underlines the importance of considering the balance between group size and efficiency in any collective endeavor.