Modern psychological science identifies such an interesting phenomenon as social facilitation. This term was introduced at the beginning of the last century by scientists N. Tripplett and F. Allport. At one time they developed a whole concept that allowed us to understand why a person, being in a group of certain people, acts in one way or another. It turns out that many behavioral features depend on such things as temperament, the tendency to communicate, and the habit of isolation.
The main factors of social facilitation are pronounced desires to create a positive impression of oneself and to gain approval from society. A person whose life takes place within the framework of social norms and orders will strive with all his might to live up to the responsibilities assigned to him. He will try to meet the expectations of his colleagues and superiors even when this is inconvenient and does not bring joy to his own personality.
The essence of the concept
Social facilitation is a mechanism of individual behavior when he has the ability to act quite successfully and make the right decisions in the environment of society. If a person is left alone with himself, then he perceives some tasks of the same level of complexity as more difficult. That is, the effect of social support and approval comes into play. To one degree or another, it is important for all of us to be noticed and heard by society. No one strives to live so independently that he is not affected by any social attitudes and stereotypes. We are more inclined to listen to the opinion of the majority and draw our own conclusions from it.
Social facilitation in psychology is a rather subtle and individual phenomenon. Each person will be affected differently by the absence or presence of social support. Some people prefer to work alone, and are disturbed by people constantly scurrying back and forth. There are people who do not like to listen to instructions; they rely only on their own knowledge, skills and preferences. For others, it is important to feel interaction with colleagues and co-workers throughout the entire period of work. Even though this will not significantly help in the work, the main thing is that the person is not alone. In other words, the phenomenon of social facilitation is that a person feels more confident when someone is interested in his activity and supports it.
Collaboration and facilitation effects in business.
The application of the facilitation effect is often associated with group work. In itself, increasing employee productivity is naturally of primary interest to the business community. Therefore, many large companies deliberately assign projects not to one employee, but to a group. In addition to the facilitation effect, group work helps achieve the following benefits:
- The group creates conditions for the exchange of experience, knowledge, skills and competencies. The term synergy is also often used.
- Group members provide support to each other. The group encourages participants to make individual efforts and take risks.
- Create group responsibility.
- Higher individual responsibility, since responsibility to the group has a higher stimulating effect than responsibility to management.
- The group enhances the emotional expressions of its members.
- There are many more opportunities to receive feedback in a group.
The phenomenon of positive expectancy
The effect of social facilitation is closely related to what a person expects from society, and how generally oriented he is to his opinion. When people around him tend to encourage a person and support him in many endeavors, the individual himself feels that it is much easier and simpler for him to carry out his daily tasks. The phenomenon of positive expectancy suggests that a person will try to make a positive impression on people around him in order to receive all kinds of benefits. When a person feels in demand and accepted in society, it becomes much easier for him to perceive himself and strive for any goals. Social facilitation in psychology is a concept that determines the degree of success of an individual in a specific situation. Each of us throughout our lives strives to create the most comfortable conditions around ourselves.
Overload theory
Another alternative to social inhibition is the overload theory, which argues that distractions do not lead to increased arousal, but to an overload of brain activity. At this time, a person experiences an overabundance of information data in the area of working memory.
In relation to complex tasks, human productivity fades because his attention is focused on extraneous things, due to which he loses concentration on his main task.
Social inhibition
This is the opposite phenomenon that occurs in a situation where, at the moment of interaction with society while performing a specific task, a person feels lost and unsure of himself. Anxiety increases, fear of doing something wrong, making a mistake appears. This phenomenon is actually not uncommon. For people whose inner world is distinguished by a special individuality, it is extremely important to feed on their own energy, while someone else’s can cause harm and hinder.
The phenomena of social facilitation and inhibition are opposite phenomena, but at the same time they are closely related to each other. If the first concept presupposes inclusion in public life, then the second most often demonstrates some freedom from social interaction in general. Creative people live this life: writers, musicians, artists. Social facilitation and inhibition represent two opposite poles. If it is important and meaningful for a person to work individually, then all sorts of interference and hints from other people can cause him significant irritation and dissatisfaction. Social inhibition suggests that individuals are better guided by their own opinions, attitudes and motives. The presence of other people during work activity can only cause harm. Labor productivity will not only deteriorate, it will not reflect the degree of talent of the individual.
The power of psychological pressure
We all live in a society that cannot but have a significant influence on us. For the most part, people do not act as they really want, but as required by the current circumstances. The power of society's psychological influence on an individual is so great that sometimes he fails to recognize his own desires and motives.
The phenomenon of social facilitation is of great importance here. For some people, it is important to feel supported by their immediate environment. It is by enlisting such moral help that they can do their work more efficiently and fully. If such a person is left alone with a difficult task, then, of course, he will cope with it. However, he will need more time to understand the essence of the problem and resolve all the issues that arise.
Inhibition in team management
One of the difficult tasks facing social psychology is to control the effects of inhibition and facilitation when managing a team. The level of emotional development of the group itself is of greatest importance here.
If the team consists of well-developed individuals socially and psychologically, then monitoring their work will lead to positive dynamics in productivity.
Creating a “working” group helps in solving complex problems that have multiple outcomes.
Consideration of the effects of psychological and social pressure on an individual requires careful consideration of the situations in which these phenomena manifest themselves.
Publicity effect
A person who lives in society always strives to make a good, positive impression on others. We sometimes cannot make decisions on our own in the sense that we constantly look back at the opinion of the majority. The effect of social facilitation forces one to follow social guidelines and focus on its requests. So it turns out that a person begins to live by the demands of society, forgetting about his own needs. This is how internal dissatisfaction, a feeling of loss and personal unfulfillment are born.
The effect of publicity is expressed in the fact that, being in society, a person begins to act in accordance with the expectations placed on him. She doesn’t do anything extra, but behaves quite adequately for each specific situation.
Reasons for the audience effect.
In the course of research, Robert Zajonc described the main dependencies of the audience effect:
- The more authoritative the observer is in the eyes of the performer. The stronger the effect.
- The more complex the task, the stronger the effect.
- Competitive and collaborative activities significantly enhance the effect of the audience.
- The more emotionally stable a person is, the easier it is to cope with new tasks, beyond the existing intellect.
- The audience effect obeys the law of optimum activation.
Properties of temperament
It is known that sanguine people adapt to changing conditions more easily than others. Choleric people tend to act impulsively and take rash steps. Phlegmatic people are quite calm and reasonable, while melancholic people are characterized by emotional instability and excessive impressionability. How does social facilitation affect all four types? An example can be given as follows: at the very first difficulties, a melancholic person tends to immediately withdraw into himself, a phlegmatic person tries to put everything “into order,” a sanguine person is active and productive, and a choleric person is loudly indignant.
Social laziness
What is this concept, how is it related to social facilitation? Laziness manifests itself when there is no positive assessment from other participants in the activity. If a person is not encouraged in any way, he will not want to work to the fullest extent of his capabilities. Social laziness is that a person will never make additional efforts if he does not see meaning and purpose in them. In the absence of a meaningful assessment, a person often withdraws into himself or begins to work just enough so as not to arouse suspicion from colleagues and colleagues. Laziness neutralizes the effect of such a concept as social facilitation. Examples from life show that in the absence of proper attention and support from their superiors, people generally stop trying to show their best side at work, because they do not see the meaning and necessity in it.
Each of us wants to feel that our work is not in vain. If there is a goal for which a person takes certain steps, then any obstacles seem surmountable. Even additional forces appear to implement the plans. In the case of serious conflicts, misunderstanding on the part of society, sharp, critical rejection of the results of an individual’s work, conflicting feelings arise that interfere with full action.
Social and pedagogical facilitation
Public institutions, which include kindergartens and schools, teach a little person from a very early age to understand what other people expect from him. Each of us is familiar with the methods of reward and punishment that are successfully used in society. When a child finds himself in a certain social environment, he immediately learns to live according to its laws. From childhood, a person is offered (or rather, imposed) a specific model of behavior by which he will have to live in the future.
Socio-pedagogical facilitation means that a person from an early age learns to perceive himself as a part of society. Society makes certain demands on him, to which he involuntarily has to adapt. With this approach, a person often loses his own individuality and does not know how to realize it in the future.
Thus, social facilitation acts as a kind of connecting link between the aspirations of the person himself and social attitudes. It is very important to be able to find a balance between these two poles, then the personality will become holistic and harmonious.
