The Effects of Group Size on Cognitive Effort and Evaluation

Abstract

Students rated a poem and an editorial believing that they alone were responsible, that they were one of four persons responsible, or that they were one of sixteen persons responsible for evaluating the communications. As predicted, group mem bers reported putting less effort into the assessment than indi viduals, and this diffusion of effort followed an inverse power function. In addition, individuals evaluated the communications more favorably than persons who thought they shared the evalu ation responsibility.