Social facilitation is a [[What are the sociocultural mechanisms of learning and how do they work?|social learning mechanism]]. The content in this note is based on Hoppitt and Lala (2013), who propose the following definition (p. 64): >Social facilitation occurs when the mere presence of a demonstrator affects the observer’s behavior. In other words: The learner **behaves differently as a result of the mere presence of someone else** – regardless of whether a specific behavior is being observed or not. Robert Zajonc proposed that this effect is mediated by an **increase in physiological arousal** when in the presence of others. This is thought to have a positive effect on the performance of simple or well-rehearsed tasks, but negative effects for more complex or novel tasks. For **example**, a skilled musician might perform better in front of a crowd than when they are alone because the social context increases their arousal and, thus, their execution of well-practiced skills. On the other hand, a novice musician might perform worse in the same situation because the arousal makes them more likely to make mistakes. Social facilitation can lead to further **indirect learning**. For example, an individual might feel more relaxed when in the presence of someone else and engage in more exploratory behavior. %% ### ChatGPT Social facilitation is a concept in social psychology that describes the tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others compared to when they are alone. According to the theory, the mere presence of others can affect an individual's performance, usually enhancing the performance on simple or well-rehearsed tasks and impairing the performance on complex or new tasks. Robert Zajonc, a social psychologist, was instrumental in establishing this theory. He proposed that the presence of others increases physiological arousal, which enhances an individual's tendency to perform the dominant response. The dominant response is the most likely response in a given situation—it's typically the correct or well-practiced response for simple tasks, but for more complex tasks, it could be the incorrect or less practiced response. For example, a skilled musician might perform better in front of a crowd than when they are alone because the social context increases their arousal and, thus, their execution of well-practiced skills. On the other hand, a novice musician might perform worse in the same situation because the arousal makes them more likely to make mistakes. Though the term "social facilitation" is often used interchangeably with "response facilitation", the former is broader and primarily used in the context of human psychology. Social facilitation encompasses not only mimicry or contagion of actions (response facilitation) but also how the presence of others affects individual performance regardless of whether a specific behavior is being observed or not. %% --- Created: [[2023-06-23]] Type: #permanent Topics: [[Learning (Index)]] Related notes: - [[What are the sociocultural mechanisms of learning and how do they work?]]