About: Social compensation

Social compensation is considered the complement of social loafing, and refers to when individuals work harder and expend more effort in a group setting —to compensate for other group members—compared to when working alone. Social compensation is consistent with the expectancy-value formulations of effort theory. Williams and Karau first documented the social compensation hypothesis. The social compensation hypothesis states that there are two factors under which social compensation may occur: the expectation that other group members will perform insufficiently and if the group product is important to the individual. More specifically, the hypothesis states that if a group member is perceived to perform insufficiently either due to trust, reliability, or direct knowledge, or if an individu