Question

Recall an instance where you had to perform in front of an audience. Did you perform better than when you were alone, or did you underperform?

Short answer

After analyzing a specific performance in front of an audience and comparing it to solo practice, decide whether the audience had a positive or negative impact on the performance.

Step-by-step solution

Identify the Performance

Reflect on past performances in front of an audience. Choose one specific event to focus on for this exercise.

Analyze the Performance

Compare your level of performance in front of the audience to when you were practicing alone. Consider factors like anxiety, audience reaction, and the presence of adrenaline.

Determine the Impact of the Audience

Decide if the audience had a positive or negative effect on your performance. Did their presence make you perform better due to increased motivation, or did it lead to underperformance due to nervousness?

Key concepts

Social Facilitation

Have you ever noticed how your performance might change when someone is watching you as opposed to when you are alone? This phenomenon is known as social facilitation, a term coined by psychologist Robert Zajonc in 1965. Social facilitation refers to the tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others than when alone. Specifically, it can enhance performance on simple or well-practiced tasks while potentially impairing performance on complex or new tasks.

When focused on a familiar task, the presence of an audience can lead to improved performance due to a heightening of arousal that drives us to do well. This 'audience effect' triggers our innate competitive nature and the desire for social approval.

• Improved Reaction Time
• Increased Speed
• Greater Endurance

However, when the task is less practiced or highly complex, the increased arousal can backfire, causing decreased performance due to overstimulation or divided attention. In the exercise provided, reflecting on a past performance, we can analyze how the presence of spectators might have enhanced or hindered our abilities during simple versus challenging moments of the task.

Performance Anxiety

Why do some individuals become unnerved when facing a crowd? Performance anxiety, or 'stage fright,' plays a significant role in how we handle tasks under the public gaze. It's a form of anxiety characterized by extreme nervousness and fear that one might not meet expectations in front of others, which can adversely affect performance. Factors contributing to this state include fears of failure, negative judgment, and the stakes associated with the performance.

When we feel anxious:

• Our muscles might tighten.
• We could experience 'butterflies' in our stomach.
• Our heart rate might increase.
• We may even have impaired cognitive functions.

As a result, such anxiety can lead to forgetting lines in a play, freezing up during a speech, or even making simple mistakes in a sports game due to trembling hands. This aligns with Step 2 in the exercise, where you analyze the impact of anxiety on performance. The aim is to understand how this anxiety impacted your specific event, be it a positive motivational force or a detrimental hurdle.

Impact of Audience on Performance

The audience plays a more intricate role in our performance than we might initially believe. It's not just about how many people are watching, but who is watching us, coupled with our relationship with them. This is where the third and final step of the exercise brings us into the core of the audience's influence.

An audience can energize us. We tend to rise to the occasion when we're under observation, exhibiting what's called the audience effect. This can be seen in athletes breaking records during the Olympic Games or students performing exceptionally well during a class presentation. Conversely, the audience can just as easily intimidate us. Its effect can be debilitating if we perceive their expectations as excessively high or feel unduly scrutinized.

• Encouragement can boost confidence.
• Familiar faces may ease nervousness.
• Perceived negative judgment might lower self-esteem.

Therefore, assessing the impact of the audience, as in our exercise, involves considering not only your internal state but also the nature of the audience and the context of the performance. Whether motivating or unnerving, their presence shapes the outcome of our actions.