ABSTRACT
In 1897 N.Triplett wrote a report for the American Journal of Psychology in which he reported that children improved the speed of reeling in a fishing line when they were performing in the presence of other children doing the same task. He did not ask them to engage in competition, but it appeared that the presence of other children meant that a child reeled the line much faster than the same child could when performing the same task alone. Other people influence our behaviour, and we influence the behaviour of other people all the time. The other person does not even have to be present to exert an influence over what we do and think. Someone may dress in a certain way because they anticipate meeting someone who might like that style of dressing. They may dress that way because, in the past, someone has told them they look nice in that particular shirt or whatever. Triplett’s finding that the presence of other people improved performance has been elaborated and refined over the last century. We now know that having other people present usually improves performance where speed or strength are required (for example an athletics competition such as a track race or weight lifting), but the presence of other people can inhibit performance where it is dependent upon accuracy and precision. It is said, for example, that basketball players are much better at free-throw shooting in practice than in front of a large crowd (Kimble, 1990).
