Did you ever wonder why the majority of students dislike working in groups on projects? It is not just because the person you got stuck with smells funny. Groups affect our performance. This is called Social Facilitation. Your performance will improve in the presence of others because having other people around you increases your arousal level which strengthens the most likely response. For example, if you feel confident in the action like basketball because you’ve played on a school team the majority of your life then you will have an improved performance. The opposite effect can also happen. If you feel like you are not very good at that task your performance will only get worse, which is called Social Impairment. Depending on your base confidence level you will only get better or worse if this action is done in the presence of others.

This could have something to do with why when you are in a group no one likes to take point. It is because you are all learning this material as you go so no one is too confident in themselves and their knowledge. You tend to second guess yourself more than once. But Social Facilitation and Social Impairment are not the only possible answer for why group work or group projects tend to be more of a burden then the help that is intended. It could also be explained by Social Loafing. Social Loafing is the tendency of an individual in a group to exert less effort toward attaining their common goal than when tested individually. Studies have shown that 18% of people, not just students, put less effort into that project when they think they are on a team. It gives them a certain mind set that others will pick up the slack for them or that they don’t have to do as much because they have a “smart” person in their group.

Next time a professor or maybe your employer puts you on a team project or task you can explain to them the benefits of working solo instead. Make sure to state the long list of cons as well. Maybe, just maybe, they will listen.