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Sport and Exercise Psychology

Zajonc et al. (1969) social facilitation in cockroaches: results, conclusions and evaluation

  • 2 things to know
  • Component 03

Overview

Recall questions on Zajonc et al.'s running times and starting latencies in the first experiment, the purpose, sample, conditions and results of the second experiment, their conclusion, and the strengths, weaknesses and relevance to audience effects in sport.

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Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What was found for starting latencies in the first experiment?

Evaluation

Give two strengths of Zajonc et al.'s research.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What did the running times show in the first experiment?

    Model answer

    Averaging the two social treatments, cockroaches crossed the runway faster with others present than alone, at 36.48 seconds against 52.84 seconds, but took longer in the maze, at 222.34 seconds against 172.06 seconds.

  2. 2

    What was found for starting latencies in the first experiment?

    Model answer

    None of the effects on starting latency reached significance, so the social conditions affected how quickly the cockroaches completed the task rather than how quickly they set off.

  3. 3

    What was the purpose of the second experiment?

    Model answer

    It tested whether the same social effects would appear when the presence of other cockroaches was only partial, being reduced either to a visual reflection or to a smell.

  4. 4

    What sample and conditions were used in the second experiment?

    Model answer

    One hundred and eighty female cockroaches were divided equally between three conditions, with 60 running past mirrored walls, 60 running above an egg carton impregnated with the odour of other cockroaches and 60 running alone with a clean carton.

  5. 5

    What were the results of Zajonc et al.'s second experiment?

    Model answer

    Neither the mirror nor the odour condition improved runway times, and while maze running was faster with mirrors it was slower with the odour of other cockroaches.

  6. 6

    What did Zajonc et al. conclude?

    Model answer

    The mere presence of others of the same species raises general arousal and strengthens dominant responses, improving performance on a simple task and impairing it on a complex one, and this presence must be actual, because partial cues such as odour do not reproduce the effect.

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