Questions and Answers
Who is credited with coining the term 'social facilitation'?
What was Norman Triplett's original area of research?
What is the term used to describe the phenomenon where people's performances improve when they are performing the same task concurrently?
What was the task used by Triplett to test his theory of dynamogenesis with children?
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Who developed a theory of dynamogenesis?
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What is the term used to describe the phenomenon where people's performances are improved when they are aware they are being watched?
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What is the term used to describe the observation that the presence of others produces enhanced performance in individuals?
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Who conducted further research on the exceptions to the audience effect and co-action effect?
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What was Gustave Le Bon's approach to studying the impact of the presence of others?
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What is the term used to describe situations where the presence of an audience increases arousal and performance is improved?
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What is the transformation that Le Bon observed in individuals in a group situation?
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What does Social Inhibition describe?
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What is the subject that examines how people interact in, influence, and are influenced by the social world?
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Who is credited with conducting the first experiments in social psychology?
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What is the concept that Le Bon relied on to explain the transformation of people in crowds?
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What is the outcome of the transformation of individuals in a crowd, according to Le Bon?
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Study Notes
The Birth of Social Psychology
- 1895: Norman Triplett at Indiana University in the USA began studying how social forces affect bicycle racing, noticing that riders' times were faster when racing against others rather than against the clock.
- Triplett developed the theory of dynamogenesis, which suggests that the presence of competing others releases energy in individuals that they cannot release on their own.
- Triplett tested his theory with experiments involving children, finding that performance in simple tasks improved when children worked in groups rather than alone.
Social Facilitation
- Floyd Allport coined the term "social facilitation" to describe the phenomenon of enhanced performance in the presence of others.
- Triplett's work demonstrated social facilitation in both laboratory and real-world settings, such as cycling and sports.
Implications of Triplett's Study
- The "co-action" effect: when people perform the same task concurrently, their performances will improve.
- The "audience effect": performance improves when individuals are aware of being watched by spectators.
- Later research by John Frederick Danshiell and Travis showed that these effects are not always applicable, depending on the individual's arousal and task complexity.
Contrasting Concepts
- Social inhibition: when increasing arousal leads to decreased performance.
- Zajonc (1965) proposed the term "social facilitation" to describe situations where the presence of an audience increases arousal and improves performance.
Gustave Le Bon's Contributions
- Le Bon observed groups and crowds, noting the transformation that occurs when individuals are in group situations.
- He described individuals in crowds as emotional, less rational, and easily stimulated by leaders, and argued that people in crowds are highly suggestible and can be led by emotional appeals.
- Le Bon's work focused on contagion and suggestion to explain the transformation of people in crowds.
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Description
Learn about Norman Triplett's groundbreaking research on social psychology in 1895, studying the impact of social forces on bicycle racing and developing the theory of dynamogenesis.
