Individual Performance as a Function of Group Contingencies and Group Size

Abstract

The effects of small group incentive plans on the individual performance of a simple assembly task were studied in a simulated work environment. Subjects were 28 college students who worked under an individual monetaty incentive system, and then under a group incentive system in groups of two, four, five or nine. Following the group incentive condition, subjects again worked under the individual incentive system. Individual performance did not change significantly when subjects were exposed to the group incentive svstem nor did overall group productivitv differ as a function of group size. However, performance variability across individuals in the groups was dependent upon group size, with the greatest variability occurring in the groups of two, and the least variability occurring in the group of nine.