Social Facilitation/Inhibition

• Social Facilitation


  Occurs when the presence of others enhances an individual's performance on a task they are already skilled at or that is simple.

  Essentially, the presence of an audience or others engaging in the same activity can increase an individual's performance
• Social Inhibition 


  Where the presence of others hinders and individual's performance on a task, especially when it's complex or unfamiliar. It often occurs when there's a fear of judgement or evaluation by others, leading to decreased performance
• Distraction/Conflict theory (Barron, 1986)

  • Individuals can only attend to a limited amount of environmental cues
  • 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
• Drive theory - Zajonc

  • The 'mere' presence of others is sufficient to increase the arousal level of the performer
  • This used 'drive theory' to predict the effect of others on performance
  • As arousal increases there is a greater likelihood of the dominant response occurring.
• Evaluation Apprehension Theory (Cottrell)

  • Refers to the perceived fear of being judged. This can be stronger when a significant other is attending or the person is not confident about the outcome/unfamiliar with skill/cognitive learner
  • In some circumstances the audience can have a calming effect
• Homefield Advantage

  • Large supportive home crowds have a positive effect on home team
  • Closeness of crowd ' proximity effect' has negative effect on away team - can become over aroused, more mistakes, commit more fouls
• Self-Presentation Theory

  • Self-presentation refers to how people attempt to present themselves to control or shape how others view them
  • It involves expressing oneself and behaving in ways that create a desired impression.
• Strategies to combat social inhibition

  • Practice selective attention
  • Use imagery, mental rehearsal to block out audience effects
  • Ensure essential skills are over-learned and grooved
  • Introduce evaluative others into practise
  • Appropriate use of attribution
  • Incorporate stress management into training
  • Raise athlete's awareness of the zone of optimal functioning