Social Facilitation Effects on Memorization Task in University Students

Poster Number

9

Lead Author Major

Psychology

Second Author Major

Psychology

Format

Poster Presentation

Faculty Mentor Name

Gary Howells

Faculty Mentor Department

Psychology

Abstract/Artist Statement

Social facilitation is the process in which task performance is inhibited or facilitated by the presence of others (Zajonc, 1965). It is traditionally hypothesized that the presence of an audience will cause a person to perform better on a task that is previously mastered. However, when participants were asked to perform a kick drill in front of an audience, results showed that there was no significant difference of the effects of an audience on the performance (Bell and Yee, 2001). However some research has shown that even the presence of virtual humans on a computer screen has the same effects as humans for social facilitation. Performance was facilitated with the presence of a virtual human with a simple task such as a maze (Park and Catrambone, 2007). Newman and Dickenstein (1976) have shown that social facilitation produces higher performance scores as the complexity of puzzle building increased. The present study will observe audience effects on participants trying to complete a complex maze. In this experiment, each individual will be given 30 seconds to solve and memorize a complex maze. The participants are going to be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: memorization and completion of the maze alone, memorization alone and completion of the maze in front of an audience, and both memorization and completion of the maze in front of an audience. We hypothesize that participants will be facilitated in learning the maze and task performance while in the presence of others. Results from studies on social facilitation can aide in many different relevant aspects, such as finding the ideal setting for students to study, the best way for athletes to train, and the most efficient method for professionals in any field to perform their job.

Location

Tiger Lounge

Start Date

21-4-2012 10:00 AM

End Date

21-4-2012 12:00 PM

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 21st, 10:00 AM Apr 21st, 12:00 PM

Social Facilitation Effects on Memorization Task in University Students

Tiger Lounge

Social facilitation is the process in which task performance is inhibited or facilitated by the presence of others (Zajonc, 1965). It is traditionally hypothesized that the presence of an audience will cause a person to perform better on a task that is previously mastered. However, when participants were asked to perform a kick drill in front of an audience, results showed that there was no significant difference of the effects of an audience on the performance (Bell and Yee, 2001). However some research has shown that even the presence of virtual humans on a computer screen has the same effects as humans for social facilitation. Performance was facilitated with the presence of a virtual human with a simple task such as a maze (Park and Catrambone, 2007). Newman and Dickenstein (1976) have shown that social facilitation produces higher performance scores as the complexity of puzzle building increased. The present study will observe audience effects on participants trying to complete a complex maze. In this experiment, each individual will be given 30 seconds to solve and memorize a complex maze. The participants are going to be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: memorization and completion of the maze alone, memorization alone and completion of the maze in front of an audience, and both memorization and completion of the maze in front of an audience. We hypothesize that participants will be facilitated in learning the maze and task performance while in the presence of others. Results from studies on social facilitation can aide in many different relevant aspects, such as finding the ideal setting for students to study, the best way for athletes to train, and the most efficient method for professionals in any field to perform their job.