A psychology class has been assigned an individual case study project as well as a group project. The members of the group will receive the same grade for the group project but will be graded separately for their individual projects. Drew, Ben, Donna, and Julia are members of one such group. Drew and Donna worked very hard on the group project. Ben and Julia, however, did not contribute much to the group project because they felt that Drew and Donna would manage to get good grades for it. Instead, they focused their efforts on their individual projects. Ben and Julia's behavior is an example of:
A) groupthink.
B) staff validity.
C) self-serving bias.
D) social loafing.
E) attribution error.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ben and Julia's behavior is an example of social loafing, which is the tendency for individuals to put forth less effort in a group setting when they believe that their individual efforts will not be noticed or appreciated. They felt that Drew and Donna would carry the weight of the group project, so they focused on their individual projects instead.

A Psychology Class Has Been Assigned an Individual Case Study