What is social facilitation and how has the definition evolved"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_facilitation
Social facilitation, according to the text, has two meanings. The original meaning of social facilitation is the tendency of people to perform simple or well-learned tasks better when others are present. The current meaning is the strengthening of dominant responses in the presence of others.
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Social facilitation refers to the phenomenon where individuals tend to perform better on simple or well-learned tasks when they are in the presence of others compared to when they are alone. This theory was initially proposed by Norman Triplett, a psychologist, in 1898. Triplett observed that cyclists tended to perform better when racing against others rather than racing against the clock.
Since Triplett's original research, the definition of social facilitation has evolved to include a broader understanding of the factors that influence performance in the presence of others. One significant development is the distinction between the effects of the presence of others on task performance for simple tasks versus complex tasks.
Originally, social facilitation was believed to enhance performance for all tasks. However, subsequent research by Robert Zajonc in 1965 uncovered that the presence of others can both facilitate and impair performance, depending on the complexity of the task. This led to the development of the concept of the "mere presence" theory, which suggested that the arousal caused by the presence of others boosts the dominant response, leading to improved performance on simple tasks but hindered performance on complex tasks.
Later, social psychologists introduced the concept of evaluation apprehension, which suggests that individuals are not only influenced by the presence of others but also by their perceived evaluation by others. This theory argues that people are more likely to experience social facilitation when they believe they are being evaluated or judged by others, even if the task is complex.
Overall, the definition of social facilitation has evolved from a simple observation that performance improves with the presence of others to a more nuanced understanding of the influence of factors such as task complexity, evaluation apprehension, and the level of arousal. Ongoing research continues to refine and expand our understanding of social facilitation in different contexts and situations.