Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is meant by social facilitation?
What is meant by social facilitation?
What is the definition of social facilitation?
What is the definition of social facilitation?
The tendency for people to perform better on tasks in the presence of others than when alone.
What does co-action refer to?
What does co-action refer to?
When people work alongside each other on the same task.
What is the audience effect?
What is the audience effect?
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What is social inhibition?
What is social inhibition?
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What is meant by dominant response?
What is meant by dominant response?
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What does arousal theory suggest according to Zajonc?
What does arousal theory suggest according to Zajonc?
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What was the research study conducted by Michaels et al. about?
What was the research study conducted by Michaels et al. about?
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What is the Yerkes-Dodson law?
What is the Yerkes-Dodson law?
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What does evaluation apprehension theory propose?
What does evaluation apprehension theory propose?
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What were the conditions assessed in the research study by Henchy and Glass?
What were the conditions assessed in the research study by Henchy and Glass?
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What is distraction conflict theory?
What is distraction conflict theory?
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What did the research study by Sanders et al. find about task performance?
What did the research study by Sanders et al. find about task performance?
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How can the detraction-conflict model be applied?
How can the detraction-conflict model be applied?
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Study Notes
Social Facilitation Overview
- Social facilitation refers to the influence of being in the presence of others on task performance.
- Triplett found that individuals, such as cyclists, tend to work faster when competing or working alongside others.
Definitions
- Social Facilitation: Tendency for improved performance on tasks in the presence of others.
- Co-action: Occurs when individuals work side by side on the same task.
- Audience Effect: The impact of an audience's presence on an individual's performance.
- Social Inhibition: The tendency to perform worse when an audience is present.
Dominant Response and Arousal Theory
- Dominant Response: Most likely or practiced response in a given situation, prioritized over alternatives.
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Arousal Theory: Proposed by Zajonc, suggesting that arousal enhances the dominant response:
- In well-learned tasks, social facilitation occurs.
- In difficult or unfamiliar tasks, social inhibition is observed.
Research Studies
- Michaels et al. Study: Observed pool players; average players improved by 9% with social facilitation, while below-average players decreased by 11%. High ecological validity noted, with ethical concerns about privacy.
- Henchy and Glass Study: Assessed performance under four conditions (alone, with experts, with non-experts, filmed for later evaluation). Found social facilitation in expert and filmed conditions, emphasizing the role of evaluation in performance.
Evaluations of Theories
- Arousal Theory Evaluation: Fails to explain why competent individuals might underperform; Yerkes-Dodson law indicates an optimal arousal level for performance.
- Evaluation Apprehension Theory: Cottrell suggests that it's not mere presence but the fear of being evaluated that induces arousal and hence affects performance.
Distraction Conflict Theory
- Proposed by Baron, this theory posits that the presence of others divides attention between the task and the audience, leading to decreased performance on difficult tasks but potential improvement on simple tasks due to increased arousal from distraction.
- Sanders et al. Study: Provided evidence supporting distraction conflict theory; participants made more mistakes on complex tasks when distracted, while performance improved on simpler tasks.
General Evaluations
- Evaluation apprehension does not apply universally, as seen in animals presumed to lack this concern.
- Distraction conflict theory can explain social facilitation across species, highlighting broader applications of the model.
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Description
This quiz explores the concept of social facilitation, discussing the impact of social presence on performance. It includes key definitions and examples related to the phenomenon, such as the observations made by Triplett regarding cyclists. Test your understanding of how social environments influence individual performance!
