Social Facilitation and Inhibition: The Zajonc Model
Social facilitation and inhibition looks at the differing effects that the presence of others has on a performer, based on the theory proposed by psychologist Zajonc in 1965. Zajonc suggested that there are four types of others who might be present when someone is playing sport, which can be remembered using the acronym BEDTOP – the behavioural effects due to others present.
- Audience – people who are watching, either as spectators at the event or as a large TV audience watching national events. Their very presence causes pressure on the performer
- Co-actors – those who are doing the same task at the same time but who are not involved in direct competition with the performer, e.g. a jogger on the opposite side of the road, or another cyclist passed while out on a training ride
- Competitive co-actors – those who are doing the same task at the same time and ARE in direct competition, such as cyclists in the Tour de France or runners in a 100-metre race
- Social reinforcers – people who have a direct influence on the performance, such as the coach, whose presence is a part of the event and who could encourage or offer tactical advice
- The audience and co-actors are said to be passive since they do not exert a direct influence on the event, but their mere presence causes an increase in arousal – this is known as being aware of being watched. The competitive co-actors and social reinforcers are more actively involved in the event and can give encouragement, advice or cause distraction
- Social inhibition is the negative effect of the presence of others on performance – a fall in performance caused by others being present increasing arousal beyond a helpful level
- Social facilitation is the positive effect of the presence of others on performance – arousal from others being present can be motivating and can enhance skills performance
Performance and the Dominant Response
There is a strong link between drive theory and the effects of an audience, because the presence of others has the immediate effect of increasing the level of arousal, which affects performance depending on the level of skill or task complexity being performed.
- Zajonc suggested that for a performer who is an expert, it is likely that the responses they use are well-learned and familiar to them. When performing in the presence of others, such well-learned responses are performed automatically, with ease, and there is no pressure on the performer – the response will be correct even when performed under pressure, and the indirect effect of the crowd may promote facilitation
- A novice cricketer, on the other hand, might be unable to make the right choice of shot to play when facing a bowler in front of a crowd. This is because a novice is unlikely to have learned responses that are as well-known. When skills are complex, the presence of others makes processing the required information too demanding, and the ability to process this information reduces when under pressure – as arousal increases, the ability to process information decreases
Evaluation Apprehension
Evaluation apprehension is the perceived fear of being judged. Sometimes the people who are watching may be considered by the performer to be important or experts in the sport – e.g. imagine being watched by a professional scout or a top-class coach while playing in a game.
- The effects of the audience would be intense – it could easily motivate the performer to play well, but it could also increase anxiety and arousal to very high levels, meaning that there is a significant reduction in performance, or inhibition. The performer perceives not only that they are being observed, but that a judgement is being made on the performance
- Evaluation apprehension can occur if the people watching are known to the player, e.g. family who have watched a performer take part in sport may cause them to expect comments on their performance afterwards. It can also become more acute if the performer is already feeling less confident about the outcome, and this pressure could be worse if the audience is seen to be expert, knowledgeable or openly critical. An audience that just watches the event and makes no comment may still cause a real sense of unease in the performer
Preventing Social Inhibition
There are strategies that coaches and players can use to limit the effects of social inhibition and evaluation apprehension.
- Getting the players familiar with playing in front of a crowd – the coach should allow the team to train with the distraction of an audience so that they get used to being watched, a concept called familiarisation, gradually building up the audience so that players get used to being watched and learn to cope with it
- Gradually introducing evaluation – not only should the audience be built up gradually, but so should the level of assessment and evaluation of the performance. Informal team chats about the game could be a starting point, leading to formal assessment sheets, statistics and one-on-one interviews as the players become more experienced. Support from team mates and other peer groups helps to encourage players through games when a large crowd is present
- Improving focus and concentration – the players could try to really focus on the game and not the audience that are irrelevant, by using the process of selective attention to good effect