Social Facilitation

Thursday, 19 February 2009 16:22 | Written by Administrator |

Social Facilitation in Volleyball

“The consequences upon behaviour which derive from the sheer presence of others”

(Zajonc 1965)

There are two main types of ‘Presence of Others’

We are only interested in the ‘mere presence of others’ and how they affect performance,

Audience Affects : Passive spectators (not communicating)

Coactor Affects : Other participants performing same task at the same time without competition or interaction e.g. a line of players serving together

In 1897 Triplett looked at race times of cyclists under 3 different conditions

Alone
Paced against time
Paced in competition with others

The paced times tended to be faster. This is called the Coaction Affect. The name given to other performers is Coactors

The affects of social facilitation is multi-dimensional and exists on three levels

Skill Level
Personality Factors
Task Differences

But one affect is fundamental

The affect of ‘others’ (audience, coactors) is to increase arousal

Affects of Social facilitation

Type	Affect on Performance
Skill Level	According to Hull’s drive Theory as arousal increases the likelihood of the dominant response occurring also increases. For a novice volleyball player this will have a negative affect upon performance. If Dominant response = incorrect technique mistakes will increase. e.g. a player who is adjusting their technique so they don’t swing when they dig will start to swing as soon as they start to play a game, have an audience etc For an elite performer this will have a positive response as Dominant response = correct technique e.g. the elite volleyball player will perform the same in training as they will in a game – may even improve their performance when being watched.
Personality Factors	High anxiety individuals perform less well in the presence of others than low anxiety individuals Extroverts seek out high arousal situations and prefer an audience. The opposite holds true for introverts
Task Differences	If a skill is simple (or elite performer) the affect upon performance is positive e.g. a volley If a skill is complex (or elite performer) the affect upon performance is negative e.g. transition into an attacking situation If a skill is Fine the affect upon performance is negative – high arousal when performing a pinpoint short serve may have an adverse affect as opposed to a power serve where accuracy is not a factor If a skill is Gross the affect upon performance is positive If information processing demands are high an audience will have a negative affect upon performance – high arousal for a setter is not helpful and be sure they can cope with the demands of the role. If information processing demands are low an audience will have a positive affect upon performance

We can see clearly that Zajonc links Social Facilitation to the Drive Theory. We can also make links to the Inverted U-Theory, as it will have an affect upon the optimum level of arousal. The presence of others may therefore narrow or broaden the optimal arousal zone.

Zajonc proposes that an audience affect will influence performance depending upon the Skill Level, Personality factors and Task

Presence of others increase arousal
Well learned or simple tasks are performed better
May have a negative affect upon complex or poorly learnt skills

Zajonc also suggests that the type of ‘Others’ or audience is important

When the performer perceives that they are being evaluated this increases arousal.
This is called EVALUATION APPREHENSION
Evaluation Apprehension can also increase arousal levels
Using the Inverted U-Theory, Evaluation Apprehension can affect the optimal arousal zone – broadening/narrowing.

Baron suggests that we have a Limited Attentional Capacity. The audience will take up attentional capacity and therefore can negatively affect performance

Coping with affects of an audience

A coach will try to encourage athletes to adopt strategies that will reduce the negative affects of an audience.

Try to recreate the same environment – when doing a serving practice have teams members watching in close proximity
Mental imagery – visualise performing a skill just before the performance itself
Relaxation techniques – blocking out the audience affects (stress management) – use Progressive Muscular Relaxation on pressure points. Its good for setters to de-stress
Training alongside others is likely to increase work rate of an athlete – make your players aware of each others presence during training. Ensure they are observed by other players
When athlete is learning new skills keep observers away

Distraction Effect

Research suggests the effect of ‘mere presence of others’ is limited and has little effect upon the performer. Using the drive theory the audience effect will increase arousal level. Psychologists now suggest that a more cognitive approach would produce more significant results.

They suggest that:

The ‘audience’ will create a phenomenon called the ‘Distraction effect’ (Distraction Conflict Theory).
The audience causes the performer to concentrate attention on factors which are not relevant to the performance e.g. self-consciousness, embarrassment, awareness of ridicule etc.
This creates tension and conflict and so leads to increased arousal.
In effect it increases the information processing demands of a task

Home Field Advantage Phenomenon

The distraction effect can also be linked to the performance of teams when playing either at ‘home or away’.

It has often been assumed that playing at home will have a positive effect upon performance.
It has been found that playing at home tends to increase the likelihood of (functionally) aggressive strategies (legal – assertive and instrumental) e.g. steals in basketball, tackles in football,
Whereas performers playing away from home were more likely to exhibit (dysfunctional) aggressive behaviour – players intimidation through the net etc
As teams progress through a competition home advantage can actually increase the pressure on a team and have a negative effect upon their performance.

Last Updated (Friday, 16 July 2010 20:13)