Page 170 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

Group Performance

Forsyth suggests that while many daily tasks undertaken by individuals could be performed

in isolation, the preference is to perform with other people. (Forsyth, 2009)

Social Facilitation And Performance Gains

In a study of dynamogenic stimulation for the purpose of explaining pacemaking and

competition in 1898, Norman Triplett theorized that "the bodily presence of another rider is a

stimulus to the racer in arousing the competitive instinct...". (Triplett, 1898) This dynamogenic
factor is believed to have laid the groundwork for what is now known as social facilitation—an

"improvement in task performance that occurs when people work in the presence of other people".

(Forsyth, 2009)

Further to Triplett's observation, in 1920, Floyd Allport found that although people in

groups were more productive than individuals, the quality of their product/effort was inferior.

(Forsyth, 2009)

In 1965, Robert Zajonc expanded the study of arousal response (originated by Triplett)

with further research in the area of social facilitation. In his study, Zajonc considered two

experimental paradigms. In the first—audience effects—Zajonc observed behavior in the presence

of passive spectators, and the second—co-action effects—he examined behavior in the presence

of another individual engaged in the same activity. (Zajonc, 1965)

Zajonc observed two categories of behaviors—dominant responses to tasks that are easier

to learn and which dominate other potential responses and nondominant responses to tasks that are

less likely to be performed. In his Theory of Social Facilitation, Zajonc concluded that in the

presence of others, when action is required, depending on the task requirement, either social

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