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Do you work as hard in a group? | Nudge Newsletter

Published 9 months ago • 1 min read

The Ringelmann Effect

​Read online​

In 1882, French engineer Maximilien Ringelmann studied effort.¹

He measured how much weight each man could pull.

Individually, the men could pull 85 kg.

But in groups of seven, they averaged just 65 kg, a 24% drop.

This became known as the Ringelmann Effect.

Put simply, it proved that as group size increases, individual effort decreases.

Most of us will have seen this in the workplace, typically in bloated meetings where nothing gets done.

But it's not conclusive.

See Colin Fisher, in his book², shared how eventually social scientists discovered that groups in which additional individuals improved performance.

What was different about these groups?

Well, they tackled complex tasks.

The takeaway is clear;

  • Leave simple tasks to individuals.
  • Delegate complex tasks to a group.

Let me know what you thought of today's newsletter. — Phill​

P.S. I interviewed Dr Fisher on the podcast last week; his episode will be out soon.

¹Ringelmann, M. (1913). Recherches sur les moteurs animés: Travail de l'homme. Annales de l’Institut National Agronomique, 12, 1–40.

²Fisher, C. M. (2025). The Collective Edge: Unlocking the secret power of groups. Avery.

As a behavioural science practitioner, I believe in the peak-end rule.

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Nudge Newsletter

Phill Agnew

I spend 18 hours each week turning marketing psychology into readable newsletters.

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