When Sally Winters started as a data input clerk, she enjoyed the fact that other workers surrounded her and they could chat as they worked without affecting their productivity. Sally was recently promoted to the quality control position for her work group, but she is still at the same desk. Her coworkers' chatter now is a source of irritation to her as she checks for errors. Which of the following BEST explains the change in the effect of Sally's working conditions on her performance?
A) Sally's promotion has now elevated her to a work group with increased status, thereby creating friction with her old coworkers.
B) Sally's data input was routine, whereas checking for errors is a novel task, and social facilitation has changed from a benefit to a detraction.
C) Sally's beneficial audience effect has been replaced by the always more troubling co-action effect.
D) Sally's work group is now significantly more heterogeneous than it was before, which means there will be more conflict.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The change in Sally's task from routine data input to novel quality control has changed the effect of social facilitation from a benefit to a detraction. Social facilitation is the tendency for people to perform better on simple or well-learned tasks when in the presence of others. However, for complex or novel tasks, the presence of others can be distracting and can impair performance. This is likely the reason why Sally's coworkers' chatter has become a source of irritation for her. The other choices are not supported by the information given in the passage.

When Sally Winters Started as a Data Input Clerk, She