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Norman Triplett (1861-1931):
Worked as a high school science teacher
Studied psychology (PhD on psychology of magic) at Indiana University
Published the first ever study in social psychology (1898)
Triplett was a keen sportsman and noticed that cyclists ride faster when in a group
He analysed the results from cycling events and compared:
Races against other riders
Paced races against time
Unpaced races against time
Results:
Riders in unpaced races were faster than in paced races and races against other riders.
Found improvement over unpaced races - riders raced averagely 26% faster with other riders, and 23% faster in paced races
Theories for these findings (why riders cycle faster in presence of other riders or pacing) - see table
Key one is dynamogenic - theory of competition that the presence of another rider arouses the competitive instinct
Triplett’s criticism of this analysis
Men fast at one kind of racing may be comparatively slow at another - they find by experience the race that they are best fitted to excel, and specialise in that. I.e. self-selection problem
Tested on natural data so externally valid but lacks internal validity - therefore, an experiment needed to be conducted…
Pts - 40 children, aged 8-17
Method
‘Competition machine’ - 2 fishing reels that each pull a flag across a 4m circuit when reeled rapidly
Stopwatch and kymograph - record the time and a graphical record of the rate at which pts turned the fishing reel
Procedure
Pts had practice rounds until they were all familiar with the machine
Trials - 6 trials across 4 rounds, lasting 30-40secs each, with 5 minutes rest in-between
Conditions - so conditions can be compared with each trial
Group A: alone, competition, alone, competition, alone, competition
Group B: alone, alone, competition, alone, competition, alone
No statistical analysis at the time, so raw data and drawings were presented
3 tables presented - people were categorised into 3 groups based on how they performed
Positively stimulated - faster times in competition (20 pts)
Overstimulated - slower times in competition (10 pts)
With stimulation brought loss of control. They had an intense desire to win but this resulted in overstimulation - laboured breathing, flushed faces, stiffening/contraction of arm muscles
Little affected - same times in competition and alone (10 pts)
Statistical analysis
Other theories and research
Statistical analysis of Triplett’s data (Strube, 2005)
Found the only significant effect was comparing trial 3 between group A (competition) and group B (alone) - there were no other significant differences
Within-subjects analysis showed significant but small (p=.048) difference in the contrast between average competition and average alone times
Small reduction of 1.81% in trial times
Ringelmann - social loafing
Conducted studies in 1880s examining how group size affects individual effort
Men in groups of different sizes pull on a rope - found the increase in total force exerted on the rope is less than would be expected from the addition of individual scores. I.e. the total force of the men together was less than the total of the men’s individual forces summed up.
Therefore - motivational loss?
Zajonc (1965)
There were inconsistencies in findings on social facilitation in the 1940s and 1950s
Zajonc used drive theory to explain these inconsistencies
The presence of other people acts as a source of arousal. Arousal tends to facilitate the dominant response
In simple/well-learned tasks, dominant responses tend to be correct. I.e. the presence of others should lead to social facilitation (better performance with others)
In complex/novel tasks, dominant responses are usually incorrect or inefficient. I.e. the presence of others should lead to social inhibition (worse performance with others)
Latané - differences in ‘others’ presence
Social facilitation research shows observers, co-actors or audience members can lead to arousal, evaluation, distraction
Social loafing research shows co-workers or teammates can lead to an opportunity to reduce efforts
As the first social psychological experiment, Triplett set the standard, providing some of the hallmarks of good research
Multiple methodologies
Multiple theories, competing hypotheses
Precision and attention to detail
Modelling of real-world dynamics in a controlled environment
Control of confounding variables
Inspiration - sparked hundreds of studies on the way the presence of others affects individual motivation and effort
Different ‘others’ - observers, co-actors/co-workers, audiences
Different tasks - simple/well-learned, complex/novel
Animals and humans
Underlying processes
Development of theories
