Lecture on Social Facilitation and Social Loafing

Introduction

• Presentation scenario: The presence of an audience can impact performance.
  • Question: Does presence help or hinder performance?

Social Facilitation

• Definition: The presence of others increases the likelihood of the dominant response.
• Dominant Response: Most likely reaction in a given situation.
  • Example: If well-prepared, perform well; if unprepared, perform poorly.

Effects of Social Facilitation

• Increased Arousal:
  • Physiological/psychological excitement (e.g., heart rate, quick breathing).
  • Activation of autonomic nervous system (nervous energy).
• Performance and Task Type:
  • Improves performance on simple or well-practiced tasks.
  • Hinders performance on difficult or less-practiced tasks.
• Evaluation Factor:
  • Increased arousal occurs when efforts are evaluated.

Social Loafing

• Definition: Reduced effort in group tasks when individual contributions aren't evaluated.
• Characteristics:
  • Group-produced reduction in individual effort.
  • Individuals might feel their contribution is unessential.

Reducing Social Loafing

• Strategies:
  • Make tasks more challenging or add new components.
  • Separate individual performances (e.g., individual grades).
  • Make individual contributions essential for success.

Conclusion

• Impact of Others: It depends on task simplicity and the level of preparedness.
• Key Consideration: Evaluation of individual efforts affects arousal and performance.