Social facilitation

Question 1

Definition of social facilitation

Answer 1

• the influence of the presence of others on performance
• these others could be in the audience or performing in the same activity (coacters)
• e.g. crowd encourages a team playing well

Question 2

Definition of social inhibition

Answer 2

• opposite to social facilitation
• it is used when describing how increasing arousal leads to decreases in performance
• negative impact on performance
• deterioration of performance due to the presence of others
• crowd jeering at a team when not playing well

Question 3

Different types of audience

Answer 3

• passive others (social facilitation)
  ( audience- spectators who observe but don’t interact
  (co-actors- individuals performing the same task simultaneously without direct competition
• interactive others
  ( competitors- opponents directly engaged in the activity
  ( spectators- active audience members who may influence performance through their reactions

Presence of these individuals can elevate arousal levels, thereby impacting performance positively or negatively, depending on various factors

Question 4

Co-actors

Answer 4

• passive form of audience
• involved in the same activity at the same time as the performer but not competing directly
  E.g.
• officials/umpires/ referees
• members of own team
• ball boys/ helpers

Question 5

Factors affecting performance

Answer 5

• size of audience
• proximity of audience
• intentions of the audience
• skill level of the task
• personality of the performer
• type of task

Question 6

Nature of the audience:

Answer 6

• size of audience (A02)- the larger the audience increases the chances of inhibition and smaller audience increase the chances of facilitation (A03)
• Proximity of the audience (A02)- A closer audience increases likelihood of inhibition. An audience that is further away reduces the chances of inhibition (A03)
• Intentions of the audience (A02)- A hostile audience creates inhibition. A friendly, supportive audience creates facilitation (A03)
• Evaluation apprehension (A02)- judgement of a performance can creates both inhibition and facilitation depending on factors below (A03)
• Homefield advantage (A02)- can facilitate performance through familiarity of environment and support of crowd but can also inhibit in pressure situations e.g. penalties (A03)

Question 7

Nature of the performer:

Answer 7

• Introvert/ extrovert (A02)- Introverts suffer social inhibition in front of others whereas extroverts crave an audience and this creates facilitation (A03)
• Novice/ expert (A02)- novices’ lower skill levels break down with an audience present yet experts are able to perform with a higher level of skill in front of a crowd (A03)
• High/low anxiety (A02)- Performers with high levels of anxiety are more likely to choke under audience pressure but those with low anxiety will cope (A03)
• Confidence (A02)- Confident performers fare better with an audience whereas low confidence performers wilt under pressure (A03)

Question 8

Nature of the task:

Answer 8

• Gross/fine (A02)- tasks using large muscle groups are more likely to be done well in front of an audience e.g. athletics, swimming whereas tasks involving fine muscle groups are not performed as well e.g. darts, snooker (A03)
• Complex/ simple (A02)- complex tasks tend to break down under the pressure of being observed whereas simple tasks tend to be performed better (A03)
• Drive theory and inverted U and dominant response (A02)- an audience creates arousal. If a skill is poorly learned (early in learning curve) then the incorrect response is more likely, this leads to inhibition. However, if a skill is well learned (later in the curve) then the dominant response is more likely to be correct under high levels of arousal which leads to facilitation

Question 9

Facilitation summary

Answer 9

• high arousal leads to improved performance by
• highly skilled performer
• gross skills
• simple skills
• extrovert performer

Question 10

Inhibition summary

Answer 10

• high arousal leads to reduced performance by
• novices
• fine skills
• complex skills
• introvert performer

Question 11

Audience

Answer 11

• those watching either as spectators at the event or at home via the different forms of media, including television, the radio or the internet

Question 12

Competitors

Answer 12

• those in direct completion with the performer e.g. another badminton player in the game

Question 13

Social reinforcers

Answer 13

• those with a direct influence e.g. a coach

Question 14

Zajonc’s theory

Answer 14

• the mere presence of others creates arousal which then affects performance
• if a skill is poorly learnt (early in the learning curve) then arousal causes an incorrect response, because incorrect response is dominant
• if a skill is well-learnt (later in the learning curve) then arousal causes correct response because the correct response is dominant
• look at inverted U theory for connection between arousal and performance

Question 15

Evaluation apprehension

Answer 15

• arousal level/ anxiety increases because (perceived) judgement by others or you think/ perceive that others are judging you so you become anxious/ less confident

Question 16

Evaluation apprehension (cottrell 1968)

Answer 16

• cottrell 1968 proposed that the mere presence of others was not significantly arousing to produce a social facilitation effect
• increases in arousal were only evident when the performer thought that the audience was judging or evaluating his/her performance
• this is called evaluation apprehension
• evaluation apprehension can inhibit performance when an athlete feels like they are being judged and become anxious
• however, some athletes may thrive on evaluation to help stimulate arousal levels and thus increase performance. This would be another facilitating effect

Audience
Increase in psychological arousal
Dominant performance mode
Reduced performance while learning
Improved performance when except

Question 17

Summarise 2 causes and 2 effects of evaluation apprehension (4 marks)

Answer 17

Causes of evaluation apprehension
- intention of observers to evaluate the performer- trials, selections, finals
- status of observers, preserved pressure/ level of the event
- known observers to the performer
- personal factors- trait state anxiety
- arena: home/away

Effects (both + & -)
- apprehension due to belief that the audience will evaluate the performance. Performance inhibited (cognitive/ novice). Negative effect chocking
- if the belief is that the audience are supportive then this could lead to an improvement in perfomance. Task mastery (autonomous) better performance
- apprehension/ anxiety causes increased arousal leads to better performance/ inverted U/ drive theory

Question 18

External influences (Home field advantage)

Answer 18

• home/ away effect on performance
  . More teams win at home than away
  . A crowd may be judged as supportive or hostile
  . High levels of anxiety caused by hostility may reduce performance
  . The environment is familiar to home teams therefore home players are more comfortable, this limits anxiety and enables a worry free performance.

Question 19

The distraction effect

Answer 19

Distraction
- is an aspect of concentration (or lack of concentration)
- attentional focus is very important for the effective sportsperson if this is disrupted then he/ she is distracted from his/ her task
- audience and evaluation apprehension can act as a distraction the sportsperson needs therefore to practice in distracting circumstances and practice switching attentional focus when faced with potentially distracting circumstances

Question 20

Proximity effect

Answer 20

• Schwartz (1975) proposed that location of the audience in relation to the performance was an important factor in social facilitation
• performers appear to experience the effects more intensely the closer the audience gets
• this phenomenon is more evident in indoor sports such as basketball and ice hockey
• the proximity of the audience can have either a facilitating or inhibitory influence
• the outcome is dependant on the type of skill learnt, the personality of the performer, stage of learning and experience level of the athlete

Question 21

Explain three methods an athlete could use to help minimise social inhibition (3 marks)

Answer 21

1. Imagery techniques/ selective attention to shut out/ block out audience
2. Relaxation techniques (e.g. deep breathing) to help the performer relax and reduce tension
3. Train in front of an audience/ with loud noise/ playing crowd noise to enable the performer to get used to it
4. Support from peers and coach to reassure performer
5. Thought stopping (e.g. count to 10) can help performer control thoughts/ worry about nerves and the audience
6. Over-learn/ rehearse/ practice/ groove skills to ensure they are automatic/ correct dominant response so that when the performer gets nervous/ increases in arousal the correct response is still performed
7. Decrease the importance of the event

Question 22

Factors that are affected by increased arousal

Answer 22

Facilitation
- gross motor skills
- extroverts
- type b personality
- dominant response is well learned
- simple skills
- autonomous phase of learning

Inhibition
- fine motor skills
- introverts
- type a personality
- dominant response is not fully learned
- complex skills
- cognitive phase of learning

Question 23

Using cottrells theory of evaluation apprehension, assess the effect that ‘others’ could have on the performance of an under 18 club debutant (8 marks)

Answer 23

• The presence of others can either facilitate or inhibit an athletes performance (A02)
• The presence and effect of others can be grouped as passive and/or interactive others and dependent on their status or the situation the performance can be aroused to perform better or over aroused and suffered from apprehension and anxiety (A03)
• Apprehension and consequent arousal (positive) or consequent anxiety (negative) can be affected by the following:
• The other is an evaluator and is of high status and/ Or the opposite sex this can motivate or inhibit (A02)
• The performer has low self-esteem or perceived low ability this will usually lead to increased apprehension and anxiety (A02)
• If there is a crowd present and they are vociferously critical, this can lead to increased arousal but is more likely to lead to increased apprehension and anxiety (A03)
• If the event is considered to be important this can lead to increased arousal but is more likely to lead to increased apprehension and anxiety (A03)

Question 24

Drawbacks to Zajoncs theory

Answer 24

• landers and mccullage (1976) proposed that skills were learned more effectively by an individual in the presence of others who were also learners but obviously slightly superior ability
• The learning of motor skills can therefore be enhanced by the presence of actors but the attention of an audience will inhibit learning
• If skill levels can be improved there is a greater chance that sport will become a permanent part of a persons lifestyle

Question 25

Coping strategies

Answer 25

Stress management Mental rehearsal Selective attention Lowering the importance of the situation Training with an audience present

Question 26

Impact on novice vs skilled performers

Answer 26

Novice performers: - typically have less developed skills - the dominant response may be incorrect - presence of others can lead to increased anxiety, resulting in social inhibition Skilled performers: - possesses well-practiced skills - the dominant response is likely correct - presence of others can enhance performance through social facilitation

Question 27

Strategies to combat social inhibition

Answer 27

- Mental Rehearsal: Visualizing successful performance to build confidence.  - Training in Front of Others: Simulating competitive environments to acclimate to audience presence.  - Selective Attention: Focusing on task-relevant cues to minimize distractions. - Reducing Event Importance: Framing the event as a learning experience to alleviate pressure. - Avoiding Social Comparisons: Concentrating on personal performance rather than others’. - Supportive Team Environment: Encouraging positive reinforcement among teammates.

Question 28

External influences on performance

Answer 28

- Significant Others: Coaches, teammates, or family members whose opinions matter can heighten evaluation apprehension. - homefield Advantage: Familiar environments and supportive crowds can boost confidence and performance. - Distraction Effect: Audience noise or movement can divert attention, impacting concentration. - Proximity Effect: Close proximity of spectators can intensify pressure, affecting performance.

Question 29

Evaluation apprehension

Answer 29

Concept: The concern about being judged by others can increase arousal. Zajonc’s Perspective: Mere presence of others elevates arousal, affecting performance. Cottrell’s Refinement: It’s not just the presence of others but the potential for evaluation that influences performance.

Question 30

Drive theory

Answer 30

- Proposes a linear relationship between arousal and performance. - Increased arousal enhances the likelihood of the dominant response. - If the dominant response is correct (as in skilled performers), performance improves. - If incorrect (as in novices), performance deteriorates.

Question 31

Inverted u hypothesis

Answer 31

- Suggests that performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point. - Beyond this point, further arousal leads to performance decline. - Optimal arousal levels vary based on task complexity and individual differences.