Triplett Flashcards
How did Triplett (1898) explain the underperformance of some children in his experiment?
Overstimulation
Who posted the first ever study in social psych
triplett
Where did Tripplet work
1901: Faculty at Kansas Normal School, Emporia
Head of the department of child study for 30 years
Why was Triplett curious about cycling
• Triplett was a keen sportsman
• He noticed that cyclists ride faster when in a group
Analysis of results from cycling events by the Racing Board of the League of American Wheelman for the 1897 season
What did Tripplet observe from League of American Wheelman for the 1897 season
- Races against other riders
- Paced races against time
- Unpaced races against time
How much faster were races against other riders?
26% (on average 40 secs/mile faster)
how much faster were races against pace
23% (on average 34 secs/mile faster)
What theories did Triplett suggest
- suction
- shelter
- encouragement
- worry
- hynoptic suggestion
- automatic
- dynamogenic
WHich to researchers used field and lab studies
triplett and festinger
Who worked in one of the first established experimental labs
triplett
What is a competition machine
Two fishing reels that each pull a flag across a 4m circuit when reeled rapidly
What were the Stopwatch and Kymograph used for
Record the time and a graphical record of the rate at which participants turned the fishing reel
What was Triplett’s method using children
- N = 40 children, age: 8-17 years (out of nearly 225 individuals)
- Practice rounds: until all children are familiar with the machine
- Trials: 6 trials of 4 rounds, lasting 30-40 sec each, 5 mins rest in-between
- Group A: alone,competition, alone, competition, alone, competition
- Group B: alone, alone, competition, alone, competition, alone
what was tripletts results using children
- No statistical analysis at the time; presentation of raw data & drawings
- 3 tables presented:
(1. ) Positively stimulated (N = 20): Faster times in competition
(2. ) Overstimulated: (N = 10) Slower times in competition
(3. ) Little affected (N = 10): Same times competition and alone
What was Tripplets interpretation of th eresults
overstimulated
What did Strube criticise
• Triplett did not have statistical techniques available
• Strube’s (2005) analysis of Triplett’s data shows:
– Significant competition effect in trial 3 between Group A (competition) and Group B (alone) – no other significant differences!
– Within-subjects analysis: Contrast between average competition times (M = 37.45 sec) and average alone times (M = 38.14 sec) shows significant but small difference (p = .048)
– Small reduction of 1.81% in trial times
What other researchers looked more closely at when groups reduce performance
- Ringelmann: Social loafing
- Zajonc: Social facilitation and social loafing in animals and humans
- Latané: Social inhibition/social loafing
what is the Ringelmann effect
Max Ringelmann conducted studies in the 1880s that examined how group size affects individual effort
Published in 1913 in a French agricultural journal
Task: Men in groups of different sizes pull on a rope
Dependent variable: Force
Result: Increase in total force exerted is less than would be expected from the addition of individual scores
Everyone pulls a little less because of diffusion of responsibility
Motivational loss?
What was Zajonc’s interpretation
Inconsistencies in findings regarding social facilitation stifle research in the 1940s and 1950s
Robert Zajonc (1965) uses drive theory to explain inconsistencies:
• Presence of other people as a source of arousal
• Arousal tends to facilitate the dominant response
• Simple/well-learned tasks: Dominant responses tend to be correct
Presence of others should lead to social facilitation
• Complex/novel tasks: Dominant responses usually incorrect or inefficient
Presence of others should lead to social inhibition
What is social facilitation research
– Observers, co-actors, audience members
– Lead to arousal, evaluation, distraction
what is social loafing research
– Co-workers or teammates
– Opportunity to reduce efforts
How has Tripplet set a mark for good research
- Multiple methodologies
- Multiple theories, competing hypotheses
- Precision and attention to detail
- Modelling of real-world dynamics in a controlled environment
- Control of confounding variables
