June, 2006 Volume 8, Issue 2 Social Loafing in Interactive Groups: The Effects of Identifiability on Effort and Individual Performance in Floorball Rune Høigaard Agder University College Rolf P. Ingvaldsen Norwegian University of Science and Technology ABSTRACT This study investigated whether effort and performance in interactive teams are influenced by identifiability of individual motivation and effort. The subjects participated in a floorball tournament under conditions of non-identifiability and identifiability. Measures of self-reported effort, heart rate, individual performance and perceived social loafing were collected. The results indicated that, under identifiability conditions, the participants improved their performance, subjective feelings of effort increased, and they perceived less social loafing in their teammates. No changes in heart rate were detected. Results are discussed in relation to previous research, and study limitations, practical implications, and further research directions are also outlined. Introduction Most sport activities take place in group settings. Even athletes who participate in individual sports, and who are solely responsible for their performance in competitions, are usually members of a team (Carron, Hausenblas, & Eys, 2005; Lordanoglou, 1993). In team sport competition, the task must be accomplished by a group of athletes who work together in order to combine individual efforts to create a single product. Obviously, all sports do not require the same degree of cooperation among and between athletes. For example, Cox (1990) refers to an interactive- coactive continuum to explain this relationship. In interactive sports, close teamwork is required for success, whereas co-active sport requires little individual interaction. Another aspect of team sport is the opportunity to measure the athletes’ efforts and performance and athletes’ contribution to the team’s results. In an athletics relay, for example, it is possible to measure each 52