To prevent free riding in group work, you need a charismatic group leader and a clear division of roles. In addition, constant feedback from professors, mutual evaluations, and face-to-face meetings can help ensure fair participation. Good behavior is essential for maintaining social trust and harmony.
In high school, one of the common missions of a “good student” was to “carry” a group assignment, i.e., to do it alone. As one of those students, I faced the same situation. I tried to keep my groupmates involved as much as possible, even if it meant annoying them, because group work is only valuable when it incorporates the thoughts of multiple minds, and we all grow as individuals. Of course, there were times when I was too tired and annoyed to do it myself. Sometimes it worked out faster, so even though I complained about the inconvenience of group work, I was always trying to figure out the most efficient way to organize it.
In college, group work (teaming) was even more problematic. In high school, we knew each other, but in college, we had to collaborate with complete strangers, even people older than us. Naturally, there was a tension between our consciences, with each of us secretly deferring to the other and not wanting me to add to the workload. Sometimes this wasn’t the case, but it was especially true if you had a teammate who was too uncooperative. How do you deal with “free riders” who don’t pull their weight in a team?
The first thing that needs to happen is the presence of a leader, or in other words, a facilitator. You might think that the members would rather leave all the responsibility to the leader and get a free ride. However, this depends on the kind of leader you have. Having a ‘charismatic’ leader can prevent free riding and motivate members to participate. Being charismatic doesn’t mean being scary, but rather having an appeal that draws people in and gives them the trust to follow along.
Once you’ve chosen a moderator, you’ll need to discuss the direction of your Teample. If you’re leading a teample on a topic that you don’t agree with, people will naturally drop out and not put in the effort. If you get everyone’s input at the beginning and set the right direction, everyone will have more fun.
You also need to distribute work fairly but autonomously. This is where the role of the facilitator comes into play, as it’s essential to find the strengths of each person and distribute them in a way that maximizes them. Also, if there are areas that the group wants to challenge, regardless of ability, this should be taken into account. This is because group work is about their development, and you want to give them the opportunity to grow rather than just be efficient. The key thing to remember is to be clear. They’ll be more responsible if they know what’s due and what’s expected of them.
Now, apart from the students, the professor who assigned the task should also provide constant feedback to the group. This could be through peer reviews to check participation rates, or by meeting with the group to check for unreasonableness. This is the most effective way to keep people who think that assignments are just a tool for grades in check. In my opinion, peer review and interviews should be conducted at the same time. Peer reviews can be deceiving, so you need to get a more in-depth interview.
Of course, this was a discussion of how to best prevent free riding in case people are acting selfishly. But let’s get back to the basic question: why shouldn’t we free ride? From a selfish perspective, it might be beneficial for me to spend more time on a study or assignment that I have to do alone, rather than working harder on a task that is divided among several people. So, can we take this question one step further and answer the question, “Why should we live rightly?
The answer is yes. We need to look at our behavior from a societal perspective, not just an individual perspective. In this case, it goes without saying that right behavior is also beneficial to me. Let’s only discuss when the right behavior is not beneficial to me.
Wrong behavior invites retribution. According to The Emergence of Altruism, people will retaliate against unfairness even at a loss, meaning that what’s right and hurts me in the moment is more likely to benefit me in the long run. Going back to the example of free riding in a group, it is likely that the free rider will reveal their lack of contribution to the group to the rest of the group, even at the risk of embarrassment and judgment.
Humans are social animals, and our relationships with those around us are crucial to maintaining a healthy life. Behavior that is wrong and puts your own interests first will make you look bad in the eyes of others. This gradually leads to a breakdown in relationships and a less social person who is unable to maintain a healthy life.
Moreover, our social structure is based on cooperation and trust. If each individual is only looking out for his or her own interests, the basic trust of the community will break down, leading to greater chaos and disorder. Therefore, behaving right is not just a personal ethical choice, but an essential component of greater social harmony and stability.
As we’ve seen, logic and common sense dictate that we should “live right,” but sometimes we don’t because of the selfishness that sometimes creeps in. Remember, if you’re a species that survived evolution, you should live right.
