How does social facilitation affect individual performance?

Social facilitation can either enhance or hinder individual performance, depending on the task and audience.

Social facilitation is the tendency for people to perform better on simple tasks and worse on complex tasks when in the presence of others. This is due to the arousal caused by the presence of an audience, which can increase physiological arousal and enhance the dominant response. For simple tasks, the dominant response is usually the correct one, leading to improved performance. However, for complex tasks, the dominant response may be incorrect, leading to decreased performance.

The audience can also affect the individual's self-evaluation and motivation. Positive feedback from the audience can increase self-confidence and motivation, leading to better performance. However, negative feedback or a perceived lack of competence in front of the audience can decrease self-confidence and motivation, leading to worse performance.

The type of audience can also have an impact on social facilitation. The presence of a co-actor, where individuals are performing the same task simultaneously, can lead to increased competition and arousal, leading to improved performance on simple tasks but decreased performance on complex tasks. The presence of passive spectators, who are simply observing the individual, can lead to increased evaluation apprehension, leading to worse performance.

Overall, social facilitation can have a significant impact on individual performance, but the direction of this impact depends on the task and audience. Understanding the factors that influence social facilitation can help individuals and groups optimize their performance in different situations.