Question 1

Baron (1986) has found that flashing lights can cause the same social facilitation effects as the presence of other people. These findings support the idea that __________ is the source of arousal that enhances performance on simple tasks.

Accepted Answer

The findings suggest that distraction, such as flashing lights, can create arousal similar to the presence of others, enhancing performance on simple tasks.

Question 2

Professor Smith has long used group projects in her courses. The groups have always performed extraordinarily well, and students seem to learn a great deal from such projects. Having just taken a new job at a different college, Dr. Smith finds that the group projects are of considerably lower quality. What might you conclude given the work of Karau and Williams (1993)?

Accepted Answer

Karau and Williams (1993) found that men, more than women, tend to engage in social loafing in group settings, which could explain the lower quality of group projects at the new college if it is a men's college compared to a women's college.

Question 3

Which of the following individuals is most likely to engage in social loafing?

Accepted Answer

Social loafing occurs when individuals exert less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group than when they work alone. Tim, who washes a car with his friends, is in a group setting where social loafing is more likely to occur.

Question 4

Group or team learning activities are becoming more common in the university setting. That is, professors often assign students to work in groups. Given what you know about social loafing, what advice would you give a professor who is considering using group learning activities?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Group or team learning activities are becoming...

Question 5

Research illustrated that even the presence of a(n) __________ impacted performance such that participants did better on __________ tasks and worse on __________ tasks.

Accepted Answer

The presence of a familiar and liked TV character can have a positive impact on performance on simple tasks, but a negative impact on performance on complex tasks, according to research. Therefore, the best choice is option D.

Question 6

One explanation for social facilitation focuses on the role of evaluation apprehension-the anxiety associated with being judged by others-in creating a state of arousal in people. What is the weakness of this explanation?

Accepted Answer

The weakness of the evaluation apprehension explanation for social facilitation is that it does not apply to non-human subjects like cockroaches, which have also been shown to experience social facilitation effects, suggesting that the anxiety of being judged by others cannot fully explain the phenomenon.

Question 7

All things being equal, __________ from __________ cultures would be most likely to engage in social loafing.

Accepted Answer

Social loafing, the phenomenon where individuals exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone, is more prevalent in Western cultures due to individualistic values. Men are generally more likely to engage in social loafing than women, making option B the correct choice.

Question 8

Gender and culture can help to predict who is likely to engage in __________.

Accepted Answer

Social loafing is more likely to occur among men than women and is more prevalent in Western cultures compared to Asian cultures. This is because gender and cultural differences influence individual behaviors in group settings, with Western cultures emphasizing individualism and Asian cultures emphasizing collectivism.

Question 9

Researchers (Karau & Williams, 1993) reviewed more than 150 studies on social loafing, and found that the tendency to loaf is stronger in men than in women. According to this text, why is this true?

Accepted Answer

Women tend to have higher levels of relational interdependence, meaning they are more concerned with maintaining positive relationships and tend to be more attentive to the needs and contributions of others. This makes them less likely to engage in social loafing. Men, on the other hand, tend to prioritize individual achievement and may be more prone to social loafing when they feel their individual efforts will not be recognized or rewarded.

Question 10

Social __________ refers to the tendency of people to do worse on simple tasks and better on complex tasks when they are in the presence of others and when their individual performance cannot be evaluated.

Accepted Answer

Social loafing refers to the phenomenon where individuals exert less effort on a task when they are in a group and their individual performance is not evaluated, often leading to worse performance on simple tasks and better performance on complex tasks.

Question 11

Your roommate really detests studying in a quiet solitary space. Based on research presented in this chapter, what would you recommend your roommate do while studying for a difficult exam?

Accepted Answer

Based on research presented in the chapter, having some background noise can actually improve focus and reduce boredom during studying. However, it's important that the noise is not something that will distract or require too much attention, such as a favorite TV show or a visible background photo. Option C, having the TV on in the background but only shows where none of the characters are really known, provides some noise without being too distracting.

Question 12

Social loafing is likely to impair performance __________ and to enhance performance __________.

Accepted Answer

Social loafing tends to impair performance on simple tasks because individuals in a group may exert less effort, assuming others will pick up the slack. On complex tasks, the presence of others can enhance performance by distributing the workload and combining expertise.

Question 13

Evaluation apprehension is __________.

Accepted Answer

Evaluation apprehension refers to the concern about being judged by others which can result in arousal, typically causing a person to perform either better or worse than they would if alone. This is a common phenomenon in situations such as giving speeches or performing in front of an audience. Test anxiety, the fear of the presence of others, and the tendency to do worse on a simple task are each distinct concepts.

Question 14

One reason why the presence of others is arousing is that it can be __________, which is a very cognitive explanation as to why people tend to perform worse at more difficult tasks in the presence of others.

Accepted Answer

The presence of other people can be distracting, which leads to cognitive overload and hinders performance on difficult tasks.

Question 15

Presently, there are three main ideas as to why the presence of others leads to greater arousal. Which of the following is NOT one of the three explanations? The presence of others __________.

Accepted Answer

The three main explanations for why the presence of others leads to greater arousal are: A) makes us vigilant, C) is distracting, and D) leads to evaluation apprehension.

Question 16

One reason why people may engage in social loafing in groups is that they feel __________.

Accepted Answer

Social loafing occurs when individuals feel less noticeable or accountable in a group, leading them to reduce their effort and contribution to the group task. Therefore, choice A is the best answer. Choices B, C, and D are not supported by research on social loafing.

Question 17

When a crowd of people clap or cheer, it is difficult to tell just how loud each individual is applauding or cheering. If people tend to clap louder when they are alone than when they are in a crowd, they are probably engaging in __________.

Accepted Answer

Social loafing refers to people exerting less effort when they are in a group compared to when they are working alone. Therefore, if people are clapping less loudly in a crowd than they would if clapping alone, this is an example of social loafing.

Question 18

Many Asian cultures are collectivistic; that is, they tend to place a greater emphasis on the welfare of the group than on the individual. Conversely, Western cultures tend to stress individual performance more than that of the group. A reasonable hypothesis would be that the social loafing effect is __________.

Accepted Answer

Social loafing, the phenomenon where individuals exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone, is generally found to be stronger in Western cultures due to their emphasis on individual performance over group welfare. Collectivist cultures, which prioritize the group's success, tend to mitigate social loafing through stronger group cohesion and accountability.

Question 19

The evaluation apprehension explanation for the source of arousal that produces social facilitation posits that __________ leads to increased arousal-and thus to enhanced performance on simple tasks.

Accepted Answer

The evaluation apprehension explanation specifically states that the presence of others who might judge us leads to increased arousal and thus enhanced performance on simple tasks.

Question 20

The resident assistant of a campus residence hall notices that when a team of five students is assigned to clean the common room, the room is not as well cleaned as when only one student is assigned to clean it. What phenomenon does this example illustrate?

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is called social loafing, where individuals exert less effort when they work in a group compared to when they work alone. This is often observed in situations where individual contributions are difficult to assess, as in the case of cleaning a common room.

Quiz 9: Group Processes: Influence in Social Groups