Behaviour in the Presence of Others (Social facilitation and Social Loafing)

Behaviour in the Presence of Others

Social Facilitation/ Social Inhibition

• Performance of individuals on specific tasks is influenced by the mere presence of others.

There can be two types of influences/effects – positive or negative.

1. Social Facilitation

The tendency for people’s performance to improve in the presence of others or an audience.

2. Social Inhibition (social restraint on conduct)

The tendency for people’s performance to decline in the presence of others or an audience.

• Norman Triplett observed that individuals show better performance in the presence of others, than when they are performing the same task alone.
• Better performance in the presence of others is because the person experiences arousal, which makes the person react in a more intense manner. This explanation was given by Zajonc.
• The arousal is because the person feels she or he is being evaluated. Cottrell called this idea evaluation apprehension.
• The person will be praised if the performance is good (reward), or criticised if it is bad (punishment). We wish to get praise and avoid criticism, therefore we try to perform well and avoid mistakes.
• The nature of the task to be performed also affects the performance in the presence of others.

For example,

• In the case of a simple or familiar task, the person is more sure of performing well, and the eagerness to get praise or reward is stronger. So the individual performs better in the presence of others than s/he does when alone.
• However, in the case of a complex or new task, the person may be afraid of making mistakes. The fear of criticism or punishment is stronger. So the individual performs worse in the presence of others than s/he does when alone.
• If the others present are also performing the same task, this is called a situation of co-action, in which there is social comparison and competition.

Similarly, when the task is simple or a familiar one, performance is better under co-action than when the person is alone.

• Therefore, task performance can be facilitated and improved, or inhibited and worsened by the presence of others.

Social Loafing

• In a group, each additional individual puts in less effort, thinking that others will be putting in their effort.
• In other words, the larger the group, the less effort each member puts in. This phenomenon is called social loafing.
• It is based on diffusion of responsibility i.e. the thought that when others are present, one person alone will not be held responsible for doing or not doing something; other members are also responsible and will therefore do the task.