Augmentation in behavior due to the presence of other individuals

• A. Social loafing
• B. Social inhibition
• C. Social comparison
• D. Social facilitation

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is that people tend to perform better when others are around, especially on tasks they can do well. This is social facilitation. The presence of others raises arousal, which strengthens the most likely response a person will give. If the task is easy or well-practiced, the strengthened response is correct, so performance improves. That’s why you might see someone sprint faster or play a familiar piece more smoothly under audience gaze. On tougher, unfamiliar tasks, the same arousal can lead to more mistakes because the harder response is activated.

Social loafing, by contrast, is when people put in less effort in a group because individual contributions aren’t as identifiable. Social inhibition is the opposite effect, where performance worsens in the presence of others, often on difficult tasks. Social comparison is about evaluating oneself against others, which can influence motivation but isn’t specifically about whether performance is augmented by the presence of others.