Social facilitation / inhibition Flashcards
What is social facilitation / inhibition
This is the influence of the presence of others on performance such as an audience watching a performer.
This can either increase performance which is known as social facilitation or it can cause a decrease performance which is known as social inhibition
Tripletts theory of social facilitation
Earliest Sport Psychology Experiment:
He analysed cycle racing records under different conditions; alone, paced against time, paced against competition
He found that paced against competitors the times were faster.
This was attributed to the presence of others raising the ‘competitive instinct’ and ‘facilitated’ a faster pace.
Arouses competitive drive and releases energy within
This is known as the ‘coaction effect’
Zajoncs theory of social facilitation
The ‘mere’ presence of others, audience or coactors, is sufficient to increase the arousal level of the performer.
He then applied ‘drive theory’ to predict the effect of others on performance.
As arousal increases there is a greater likelihood of the dominant response occurring.
If the performer is an expert performance will improve (Facilitation)
If the performer is a novice then performance will decline (Inhibition)
Cottrell’s evaluation apprehension
The ‘mere’ presence of others, audience or coactors, is not sufficient to increase the arousal level of the performer.
He stated increases in arousal were only present when the performer perceived the audience was evaluating or judging the performance. E.G. A scout or parent in the crowd.
He stated that often the presence of an audience had a calming effect rather than raising anxiety
Distraction/Conflict Theory (Barron 1986)
Individuals can only attend to a limited amount of environmental cues.
He stated that spectators demand the same attention as other players, resulting in more competition for attentional space.
Complex actions would therefore be impaired in front of large crowds.
Homefield advantage
Large supportive home crowds have a positive effect on performance.
The ‘homefield advantage’ is most evident in indoor sports such as basketball.
Crowd gets close to the action, increasing audience influence. This is called the ‘proximity effect.’
The effects of an audience on performance of different personality types
Introverts have a sensitive RAS, can become over-aroused very easily, and for introverts an audience is more likely to cause social inhibition
Extroverts do not become over aroused as easily, so an audience is more likely to cause social facilitation
The effects of an audience on performance of different stages of learning
As arousal increases, so does performance of the dominant response (habit)
For beginners this is likely to be incorrect, so social inhibition occurs
Experts, have well grooved dominant responses, and the raising of arousal due to the audience facilitates their performance
This is known as drive theory of social facilitation.
The effects of an audience on performance of different types of skill (simple / complex)
The presence of an audience adds to the information to be processed by a performer
Simple skills do not require much information processing, so the audience does not cause information overload, and social facilitation can occur
For complex skills, the audience can cause overload and social inhibition
This is known as distraction conflict
The effects of an audience on performance of different types of skill (gross / fine)
Gross skills do not need high levels of precision, and increased arousal from the presence of the audience tends to facilitate their performance
Fine skills can be inhibited by the presence of the audience as the
performer must work with high levels of precision, which is more difficult with raised arousal
Strategies to Minimise Social Inhibition
Manages arousal: Mental rehearsal - picturing the physical skills in the mind to combat cognitive anxiety, Positive self talk / negative thought stopping
Forms positive dominant responses: Practice to groove / overlearning of skills, Make performer aware of the link between appropriate
arousal and effective concentration (cue utilisation)
Increases confidence: Positive reinforcement and social support from coach or team mates, Attributing success to internal factors such as coping with the crowd, Build self efficacy by verbal persuasion, reminding of previous success when performing in front of an audience
Copes with distraction from the audience: Practice in the presence of an audience, Practice selective attention - focus on the relevant cues, blocking out the audience
