Coaching And The Ringelmann Effect

Gym Coach, Vol.2 (2008) 19-21

Commentary Article

Coaching and the Ringelmann Effect Warren Milburn Gateshead, United Kingdom ABSTRACT Understanding how group dynamics affect performance is important in order to optimize the motivational factors and reduce the depressing ones. The Ringelmann Effect helps describes the inverse relationship between the size of a team and individual member contribution to the completion of the task. The more people in a group the more likely that the individual members will not contribute 100% of their maximal effort. Instead it seems that the more members in the group the lower the contribution form individuals members will tend to contribute. This phenomenon has clear implications in team situation, where each member is expected to perform at their best, such as in team sports. However the Ringelmann Effect can also be applied to group dynamics during gymnastics trainings. Coaches need to understand the implications of this social effect, and develop strategies to counteract any negative effects. By creating cohesion, and support within a training group the group will be able to work together more efficiently, and productively. Poor group dynamics in trainings result in poor performance, lack of motivation, slower learning rates. Effective group dynamic understanding can help to prevent or reduce the effects from such negative training factors. This article reviews our current understanding of the Ringelmann effect. Key Words: Coaching, group training, coaching strategies

INTRODUCTION The Ringelmann Effect first proposed by Maximilien Ringelmann in 1913 following an experiment where had people individually and in groups pull on a rope attached to a strain gauge to measure the pull force. He found that the sum of the individual pulls did not equal the total of the group pulls - it was less, and the more people in the group the lower the greater decrease of individual maximal effort. The Ringelmann Effect thus describes the inverse relationship between the size of a team and individual member contribution to the completion of the task (3). Even though gymnastics is not a team sport most of the time, the training environment is, particularly in group conditioning. The implications for the Ringelmann Effect on group dynamics during training are also fairly obvious. The coach needs to understand the effects of this phenomenon in order to create the necessary environment to prevent its negative effects. This is also important from a managerial/administrator role, as it highlights the importance in the organization of classes, coach to gymnast ratios, levels groupings etc. The following is a summary of the Ringelmann Effect and is the result of accumulated wisdom derived from studies dating back to the 1920’s

©2008 The Gym Press. All rights reserved

DISCUSSION and REVIEW What is the Ringelmann Effect? The Ringelmann Effect is a phenomenon in group dynamics whereby individual performance decreases as the group size increases. It is also referred to as “social loafing.” An often quoted example of the effect is the tug of war example. Studies found that an individual pulling on their own will exert close to 100% effort. The same individual will exert significantly less than 100% effort when pulling as part of a team. Experiments have shown individual performance to degrade by up to 20% under certain circumstances. The individual is not necessarily aware of the effect. What causes the Ringelmann Effect? • Individual perception that others are not working as hard as themselves • Individual belief that personal effort will make little difference to the overall outcome • Individual assumption that that personal lack of effort will go unnoticed • Individual belief that personal lack of effort will be compensated for by effort from other members of the team Gym Coach Vol.2, March, 2008

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W. Milburn, Gym Coach, Vol.2 (2008) 19-21 Article • Group allocation strategy: A group naturally attempts to distribute effort between its individual members • Individual minimization strategy: An individual within a group will attempt to conserve energy when they believe this will go unnoticed How is the Ringelmann Effect manifested in sports training? Individuals will react in the manners described above when placed within a group. Individuals will transmit their behavior to other members of the team through osmotic communication, amplifying the overall effect. Example The Ringelmann Effect is a psychological phenomenon that is manifested at a sub-conscious level, and hence there is no conscious reasoning on the part of the individuals. They are, in essence, behaving normally. Lucy, Jamie, Sophie, Anna and Beth are competitive gymnasts. Their coach is Shannon. They have warmed up and are ready to move to their first piece of apparatus which is the tumble track. The aim of the session is for all gymnasts to achieve excellence in the handspring. They each take a turn. Lucy is first, but she is feeling a little under-par and makes some basic mistakes. Shannon gives her some corrections to make. Next is Jamie, who is feeling fine and motivated, but has watched Lucy and under-estimates the standard required. She makes most of the same mistakes as Lucy. Next is Sophie who, on seeing the previous performances, figures that if she does just a little bit better it will be enough to keep Shannon happy. She makes some of the same mistakes and adds one of her own. Shannon is already becoming a little frustrated because she has had to give the same corrections to each gymnast in turn. Each gymnast should have learned from the mistakes of the person in front of them, but instead they are doing the same thing. This makes no sense to Shannon. Anna and Beth do the same. Shannon gives the whole group one correction to make. Lucy thinks that she’ll be okay if the other team members do well. She’s unable to lift her own performance and gives the initial impression that she is trying hard to comply, but fails nonetheless. Shannon tells them all that they are under-performing and that they need to work really hard on this correction. The rest of the group performs and each one fails to make the correction. Shannon is getting very frustrated by now and cannot understand why the gymnasts refuse to make the correction. When it is Beth’s turn, she manages to make the correction, but makes a different mistake. Shannon is so frustrated by now, that she says nothing to Beth. Beth now believes that her own performance does not count towards the achievement of the team. ©2008 The Gym Press. All rights reserved

Commentary Shannon makes the gymnasts do the exercise over and over again until they achieve the aim. They do not achieve the aim, but get somewhere towards it and only with a tremendous amount of extrinsic motivation from Shannon. By the end of the session, the aim has not been achieved, the gymnasts are tired and bored from doing the same thing over and over, and are de-motivated because of their apparent inability to please Shannon. Shannon is feeling angry and frustrated with the group, and anxious that the pace of learning is too slow to achieve their competition objectives. Challenging the Ringelmann Effect Many socio-psychological studies have been made of the Ringelmann Effect. Its dynamics and treatment are well understood. What does NOT work? Even when individuals are specifically taught about the Ringelmann Effect, and its manifestation is drawn to the attention of the group, or individuals within the group, the effect continues to occur. What DOES work? • Allow the normal phases of team development to occur o Forming – the team comes together for the first time and relationships are still quite formal o Storming – tension occurs as each individual seeks their place within the team o Norming – the informal rules and standards of behaviour are agreed o Performing – the group matures and the team begins to perform its function effectively • Establish team cohesion – this is the extent to which individuals exhibit the desire to achieve common goals and group identity. It is engendered through: o Stability – cohesion increases when the group is together with the same members for longer o Similarity – the age, gender, skills and attitudes of the individuals, when closely matched, will increase cohesion o Size – the smaller the group, the better the cohesion o Support – cohesive teams tend to have a supportive coach and encourage each other to succeed o Satisfaction – cohesion increases when team members are pleased with each other’s performance, behavior and conformity to the team norms o Sense of Identity – cohesion improves when the individuals have a strong sense of belonging to the team - 20 -

W. Milburn, Gym Coach, Vol.2 (2008) 19-21 Article o Shared purpose – when the team shares a desire or a set of goals, cohesion improves o Structured patterns of communication – the team knows how and when to communicate between themselves and with the coach and the nature and context of those communications. The individuals should feel empowered to communicate through questions and feel safe to express a lack of understanding • Establish team level, criterion based performance goals that are challenging. This avoids the “free rider” element. • Identify and value each individual performance as a contribution to the team goal. This avoids diffusion of responsibility. • Create positive interdependence o The team will sink or swim together o Individuals perceive a situation whereby their contribution is essential for the team to succeed, and the contribution of every other team member is also essential o Each individual understands that their work benefits the team and the team’s work benefits them o The team provides mutual support and encouragement to its members o The team celebrates its joint success and each member gets the same reward or a team reward • Create face-to-face promotive interaction o Established communications structures should allow the individuals to provide help, support and feedback to other team members in order to improve subsequent performance o Individuals should be encouraged to promote and advocate the exertion of effort to achieve the team’s goals • Create individual accountability o Assess the performance of the individual and give the results to them and to the group  Test the individuals  Random audits  Have individuals explain to the others what they have learned  Have an elected “checker” to assure the quality of the work o The group holds the individual responsible for doing their bit for the team o The group insists on “no free riders”

Commentary o The group identifies who needs more support and encouragement and ensures that they get it • Teach and reward development of social skills. Individuals should: o get to know and trust one another o communicate accurately and unambiguously o accept and support each other o resolve conflict constructively • Engage the group in group processing: o reflect on which actions of individuals were helpful and which were not o reflect on which actions to continue and do more of, and which ones to stop o “list three things you’ve done well, and one that you could improve on” o celebrate success o create feelings of success, appreciation and mutual respect

CONCLUSIONS The Ringelmann Effect is a group dynamics phenomenon where which explains that the individual effort will decrease as the group size increase. The applications of this effect are subconscious making it hard for the individual to perceive their mistake and to learn from it. The implication of this effect at trainings is obvious, particularly in gyms that have large group numbers. The coach is essentially responsible for establishing the correct gym/training culture to reduce the effect of this phenomenon. To do so the coach/gym must create a culture of responsibility, and support between individuals of the group and him/herself. This it is also important form a managerial side, because when this has implications in the cost to productivity effect. Gymnasium managers should be aware that when promoting large groups that there is a balance within the group. The recognition and of this phenomenon in group conditioning situations can be particularly important, and it is important that the coach is aware of this, and can implement effective strategies to minimize its negative effects. Every care is taken to assure the accuracy of the information published within this article. The views and opinions expressed within this article, are those of the author/s, and no responsibility can be accepted by The Gym Press, Gym Coach or the author for the consequences of actions based on the advice

Address for correspondence: Milburn W, Gateshead, United Kingdom. [email protected]

REFERENCES and RECOMMENDED READINGS 1- Ingham, A.G., Levinger, G., Graves, J. and Peckham, V. (1974). The Ringelmann Effect: Studies of group size and group performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 371-84. 2- Kravitz, D.A. and Martin, B. (1986). Ringelmann rediscovered: The original article. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 936-941. 3- Wikipedia (2008). Ringelmann effect. Accessed:19.11.08 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringelmann_effect ©2008 The Gym Press. All rights reserved - 21 -

W. Milburn, Gym Coach, Vol.2 (2008) 19-21 Article

©2008 The Gym Press. All rights reserved

Commentary

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