SOC 350 Final Exam Questions and Correct Answers| Verified

What was the very first Social Psychology Experiment (hint: tested Social Facilitation)? - Done in 1898 by Triplett - Cyclists recorded faster times when competing against others than when racing alone - Designed an experiment to test whether the presence of others facilitates human performance - Two groups of children, has them reeling in fishing lines alone, and also reeling them while sitting by another child - Found what he hypothesized-when the child was alone they reeled slower than when they were in the presence of another child - Concluded that the presence of others facilitates performance What is Social Facilitation? initially a term for enhanced performance in the presence of others; now a broader term for the effect, positive or negative, of the presence of others on performance What is Zajonc's Theory? Three components: 1. Mere presence of others makes a person more aroused 2. Arousal tends to make a person more inflexible 3. For easy tasks, presence of others improves performance; For novel tasks, presence of others hinders performance How was Zajonc's Theory tested? - Examined the effects of social facilitation using cockroaches running mazes in the presence or absence of other roaches - In the presence of others, the roaches ran faster through a simple maze but slower through a complex maze What is Evaluation Apprehension? people's concern about how they might appear to others, or be evaluated by them What is Distraction-Conflict Theory? the mere presence of others may increase arousal because attention becomes divided between the task and the audience What is Social Loafing? Tendency to exert less effort when working in a group task, especially when individual contributions can't be measured What are the practical applications of Social Facilitation, Zajonc's Theory, and Social Loafing? 1. Study alone - learning complex material is easier without other people present 2. Simple or repetitive work should be done with others