If you do group assignments at school, there will be differences in the degree of participation

of individuals. A good explanation for this phenomenon is the Ringermann Effect, also
known as Social Loafing, named after the German psychologist Ringermann.
Ringermann experimented with the contribution of individuals belonging to the group by tug-
of-war, but the power of one person is not proportionally increased as the number of people
increases, but only 93 for two, 85 for three, and 49 for eight. In other words, if the
individual's abilities and achievements are not revealed, he or she will not be able to make the
most of his or her abilities with his or her spirit, and even moral hazard to the group will
appear.

There are several reasons for the Ringermann effect and social loafing.

One of the reasons for this is that Westerners, who are individualistic cultures, tend to neglect
society more than Asians, who are collectivist cultures.

Of course, social loafing stands out more than collectivist culture because individual interests
are paramount in an individualistic culture.

Individualism is an idea that places the individual at the centre of everything and situation
and takes this into account first. Especially in society, the position is that individual interests
should be prioritized over the interests of society as a whole, and individuals should be
respected and protected within the principles of social management. As a nation or society is
a collection of many individuals, conflicts and conflicts between individual rights and the
interests of society as a whole occur frequently. Individualism emphasizes free individuals by
considering individuals first.
It is impossible without the premise of freedom because you can only decide and choose on
certain issues if you can do whatever you want, and the foundation of freedom is based on
respect for personal values and feasibility. Such individualism in modern times has
maintained complementary relationships and developed each other in partnership.
After the 16th century, absolute monarchy concentrated all its power on absolute princes,
individual liberty was ignored, and individuals became considered appendages to absolute
princes. The French Civil Revolution of 1789 was triggered by the backlash here, which gave
people a renewed sense of the importance of freedom and the value of individuals. After that,
the 18th century became a social atmosphere in which freedom and individual rights were
respected as much as possible, and this was called the liberal era. Historically, individualism
developed because Western countries fought for individual freedom through the British
Revolution of Honor, the American Revolution of Independence, and the French Revolution.

By the way, I think language is the field where the characteristics of collectivism are best
expressed in Korean society. In America, where individualism has developed, the word "me"
is used more often than "us." For example, they are called "my family," "my house," "my
teacher," and "my school." It's also easy to call it "my country." On the other hand, the word
"us" is used more often than "me" in Eastern society. Recently, the phrase "family" is often
used in advertisements to recruit employees and employees, which shows the collectivist
nature of Eastern society.
Linguistically, the East has developed with collectivistic and cultural characteristics, so the
East has a collectivistic personality.
Through history and language, I learned why individualism and collectivism were considered
important values in the East and the West. The development of Western individualistic ideas
and social loafing is closely related to the common occurrence of Western groups.