More than 100 years ago, the French engineer Max Ringelmann conducted a famous experiment about teamwork. He placed two people at either end of a rope and told them to pull as hard as they could. After measuring the force each exerted, he added two more subjects, one at each end, and once more took the same measurement of individual effort. He continued to add participants in this way and collect data. The results showed a general pattern: As more people became involved in the activity, each person slacked off somewhat. This phenomenon, which has been confirmed multiple times since Ringelmann's initial study, has come to be known as "social loafing."