Students from high schools across the state have shown up to take part in a track and field meet. The stakes are high and the audience is large and noisy. According to Zajonc's theory of social facilitation, who should have the best performance at the meet?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Zajonc's theory of social facilitation, the presence of a large and noisy audience creates a heightened state of arousal, which can improve performance on tasks that we already know well. London, who has a lot of experience running the 400-meter dash and is also experiencing a great deal of arousal, is most likely to have the best performance at the meet. The other options involve either lack of experience or low levels of arousal, which are not optimal for social facilitation to occur.

Students from High Schools Across the State Have Shown Up