Understanding Social Facilitation and Inhibition:

Social Facilitation and Social Inhibition are concepts from social psychology that describe how the presence of others affects an individual’s performance.

1. Social Facilitation

Definition:
Social facilitation refers to the improvement in performance on simple or well-learned tasks when others are present.

Key Points:

• Cyclists performed better when racing against others).
• The presence of others increases physiological arousal.
• Arousal enhances the dominant response — the behavior most likely to occur.

Examples:

• A skilled pianist performing better in front of an audience.
• A runner improving their speed during a competition.

2. Social Inhibition

Definition:
Social inhibition refers to the worsening of performance on complex or unfamiliar tasks when others are present.

Key Points:

• Increased arousal strengthens the dominant response, which is often incorrect for new or difficult tasks.
• The presence of others creates evaluation apprehension (fear of being judged), which can impair performance.

Examples:

• A student making more mistakes while solving a difficult math problem in front of classmates.
• A novice speaker forgetting their lines during a public speech.

Theory of Social Facilitation

• Presence of others → Increased arousal → Enhanced dominant response:
• If task is easy or well-practiced → Performance improves.
• If task is hard or unfamiliar → Performance worsens.

Summary Chart:

Task Type Presence of Others Effect Simple/Familiar Yes Social Facilitation ↑Complex/Unfamiliar Yes Social Inhibition ↓

Shervan K Shahhian