USING PUNISHMENT THREATS TO ATTENUATE SOCIAL LOAFING EFFECTS AMONG SWIMMERS

Members of high-school swim teams (n = 120) swam a 100-yard freestyle either as members of a four-person relay team or as individuals swimming alone. In all cases, a performance time goal established in pretesting to be perceived as difficult, but acceptable, was announced by the coaches (i.e., the desired time to swim the required distance by either an individual or by the relay team as a whole). Further announced was a punishment threat for failing to meet this standard-a number of penalty laps established in pretesting to be perceived as either a severe threat, a moderate threat, or no threat. Consistent with previous research on the social loafing effect, it was found that individuals in groups performed worse (i.e., swam slower) than individuals performing alone under conditions in which punishment threats were not issued. In contrast, when substandard performance was threatened with punishment, group performance improved, and the social loafing effect was attenuated. The implications and limitations of these findings for maximizing task performance are discussed. © 1993 Academic Press.