Group InfluenceEssay Preview: Group InfluenceReport this essayGroup InfluenceSocial influences could be defined as the sum of all things that may change or have some effect on a persons behavior, thoughts, actions, or feelings. This is a concept studied both in social psychology and sociology. Studies may focus on ways in which behavior is influenced by outside factors, and this could be behavior of a whole group or of discrete individuals. Certainly in things like psychological practice or therapy, the degree to which a person is socially influenced may say much about his or her mental status (What Are Social Influences?).
In some circumstances, individuals perform better when other people are present. This phenomenon is called social facilitation. Social facilitation is more likely to occur on easy tasks. On difficult tasks, people are likely to perform worse in the presence of others (Myers, 2005). This concept also states that the person is more likely to fail because of nervousness if the task is not simple.
The theory worked in my sisters life, when she was involved in athletics. She had practices every week in the area near the beach and it took her around 2 hours to finish the trace. Once I observed how she acted, how much efforts she put. I can not say that she did not do her best at that time. But during the local competition, with a huge crowd around and few sportsmen taking part in the competition, she was more organized, accurate with every single move and targeted towards the goal to come to the finish as fast as possible. The basic knowledge that other athletes are there to compete in the race escalates the physical arousal of an individual to do his best on the race. The presence of the big crowd in the competition also lifts the athletes morale (Social Facilitation).
•