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
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

©2008 The Gym Press. All rights reserved Gym Coach Vol.2, March, 2008 - 19-
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
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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”
Address for correspondence: Milburn W, Gateshead, United Kingdom. warren@munki.net
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
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
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W. Milburn, Gym Coach, Vol.2 (2008) 19-21 Commentary
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