Your instructor has organized the class into groups of three students each and assigned each group a research project on different aspects of the workings of Congress. Regardless of the individual contributions of each member of the group, all three students of each group will receive the same grade based on the quality of the project. After numerous attempts to organize the group to work on the project, you realize the third student in your group will not participate. Instead, you and the second student get together to finish the project because both of you are very concerned about your final grade in the class. However, you are both angry that the third student is going to benefit from your hard work without contributing. Had the instructor told each group that each student's grade on the project would be based on his or her individual contribution, which problem would the instructor have avoided?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The instructor would have avoided a free-rider problem if they had told the students that each student's grade on the project would be based on their individual contribution. A free-rider problem occurs when one or more individuals take advantage of the group's resources without contributing to the group's efforts. In this scenario, the third student in the group is benefiting from the hard work of the other two students without contributing anything, which is an example of a free-rider problem. By making it clear that each student's grade would be based on their individual contribution, the instructor would have encouraged all group members to contribute equally to the project.

Your Instructor Has Organized the Class into Groups of Three