Explanations of social facilitation: A review |
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Authors: | B Guerin and J M Innes |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, 5001, South Australia |
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Abstract: | A review is made of the behavioral effects of the presence of a conspecific. A large number of behavior changes are discussed,
in three groups. First, there are effects of the presence of others on the level of arousal or alertness; under predictable
conditions the presence of a conspecific will increase arousal level. Second, there are effects on attentional processes.
For a variety of reasons, conspecifics require attending. Third, the presence of others can induce a social valuation on particular
behaviors, so that they become positively or negatively valued. For each of these three groups, a number of possible mechanisms
are elaborated, and a number of mediating variables are discussed. Further, an attempt is made to link each of these behavioral
effects to human and nonhuman social relations, to show how they function in social organization. Even the “minimal” social
setting, one person with another, can have effects ranging from physiological changes to inducing the “presence” of the social
power structures or social organization of a social group. Lastly, future directions for research in this area are suggested,
and problems with the present research are examined. Foremost here is the use of implied audiences, mirrors, and real audiences,
as manipulations of social conditions. It is argued that these will result in different effects, and some evidence for this
is reviewed. |
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Keywords: | |
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