Social Facilitation, Psychology of Cultural Dimensions

Conformity and Obedience
Sheldon G. Levy, in Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second Edition), 2008
Social facilitation and the diffusion of responsibility
Social facilitation, discussed by Robert Zajonc, was identified early in the history of experimental social psychology (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries). Organisms such as ants and cockroaches were observed to increase their response rate in the presence of others of the same species. It is not necessary that these conspecifics be co-acting, as first thought, but merely that they be present. This presence appears to increase arousal. Because the phenomenon is observed in submammalian species, there is evidence for a biological basis although the most intelligent species may also be consciously concerned about their public appearance (evaluation apprehension).
In some instances it is difficult to determine whether the response is a result of social facilitation or conformity. In a study of audiences in a movie theater by this author and William Fenley, the likelihood of laughter to a humorous scene (from the movie M.A.S.H.) on the part of unobtrusively observed specific members of the audience increased directly as a function of audience size. The number at a showing varied unpredictably during the two weeks of research from a low of 175 to a high of 976, the theater’s capacity. The number was obtained from the box-office after the observations. Some implicit conformity is possible since individuals may prefer behavior that is similar to that of a large social group even though that person’s presence is anonymous. However, the primary factor appears to be social facilitation with the degree of arousal directly related to the audience size.
Latané and Darley conducted research that was precipitated by a highly publicized event in New York in 1964 in which a woman, Kitty Genovese, was repeatedly attacked for an hour in the courtyard of an apartment complex. Although it occurred in the middle of the night (about 3 a.m.), approximately three dozen observers in apartments responded to the screams by looking down at the attack, yet no one notified the police. The hypothesis of diffusion of responsibility was developed, that is, the more people there are, the less an individual feels personal responsibility for being engaged. There are competing hypotheses, for example, adherence to a norm of noninvolvement and conformity to inaction. Latane provided an illustration of the phenomenon by bringing groups of students at Ohio State University to an empty football stadium and asking them to applaud. The larger the group, the less likely an individual was to applaud although the overall sound level increased. Although the results appear to directly contradict the study of audiences at a movie, there are important differences in procedure that may explain the results. In the audience study, individuals voluntarily chose to attend. Thus, the audience may have consisted of those who were inclined to passivity as well as those more actively oriented. The large crowd may have aroused some of the passives to become active. In the Ohio State Stadium study, everyone was asked to be active. Those inclined to passivity might change from the active to the passive state as the group became larger and they became more anonymous.