free rider

an individual who contributes little or nothing to a joint endeavor but nonetheless garners the same benefits as others who contribute their fair share. The resentment caused by free riders can hamper the efficiency of a group working on a collective task (the free-rider effect).

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

Megan’s law

an amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act requiring that state registries of convicted but released sex offenders be disseminated to the public so that communities will be notified of offenders’ presence in a particular neighborhood. More formally known as the Community Notification Act, it was initially passed in New Jersey in 1994 after a repeat sex offender murdered a 7-year-old girl named Megan Nicole Kanka; it became a federal law in 1996.