Social facilitation and inhibition

Question 1

What is social facilitation ?

Answer 1

The positive effect on performance due to having the presence of others

Question 2

What is social inhibition ?

Answer 2

The negative effect on performance due to the presence of others

Question 3

What did Zajonc suggest about social facilitation and social inhibition ?

Answer 3

Suggested there are 4 types of ‘others’ who can be present when playing sport

1. The audience = Those who are watching the event as spectators
2. The co-actors = those who are doing the same task but not involved in direct competition
3. The competitors = Those who are involved in direct competition
4. The social reinforcers = Those who have a direct influence on the event

Question 4

What is the impact of having ‘others’ present on an expert performer ?

Answer 4

• Strong link between the drive theory and the effect on the audience
• By having a presence of others, there is an immediate increase of arousal
• If the performer is an expert their responses to sporting situations are well-leant
• The response for an elite athlete is simple as their is little thought required
• E.g. The effect of the crowd may lift the performer meaning facilitation happens

Question 5

What is the impact of having ‘others’ present on a novice performer ?

Answer 5

• Unlikely to have an automatic response to sporting situations as a novice
• This means the novice may not be able to identify the correct response if over-aroused
• This can lead to the incorrect action
• Responses for a novice are complex because they use a lot of attention to find the correct response
• Effect of having a crowd adds pressure - has a negative effect

Question 6

What is an evaluation of apprehension ?

Answer 6

• The perceived fear of being judged
• People who are watching may be considered as experts by the novice
• This could motivate a performer to do well
• Or this could make a performer less confident
• E.g. Parents watching and commenting on performance = Can be more harsh if performer is feeling less confident

Question 7

What are 3 ways of preventing social inhibition ?

Answer 7

1. Getting the players familiar with playing in front of a crowd
   - Coach should prepare the team to train with a distraction (familiarisation)
2. Gradually introducing evaluation
   - Levels of assessment can build built gradually over time
   - Informal team talks about the game (ask about their performance)
   - One someone gains more experience introducing assessment, statistics, one-to-one interviews
   - Coaches may try to reduce the importance of an event
3. Improving focus and concentration
   - players try to focus on the game, not the audience
   - attention on the things that matter
   - Use process of selective attention to explain