Glossary
Social Facilitation
What is social facilitation?
Social facilitation is improved task performance in the presence of others. An audience can also impair performance, a pattern often called social inhibition.
How it works
One influential theory proposes that an audience favors dominant responses: the responses that are most established or likely. In Zajonc and Sales's laboratory study, an audience increased well-established responses and reduced less-established ones. Whether that helps depends on which response the task requires.
Example
A musician might perform a well-practiced piece better in front of an audience while struggling with unfamiliar material. The example illustrates the distinction; the cited study used a laboratory task.
Why it matters
Adding an audience is not a general performance upgrade. Consider what the person has learned and what the task requires.
Social loafing describes a different group effect: reduced individual effort when contributions are pooled.