Social facilitation and social monitoring: A test of three models

A test was made between three models which predict the effects of the passive presence of a person on task performance. The effects on a paired‐associate learning task were found only when the subjects could not monitor the confederate or when the confederate was watching. When the confederate was inattentive and could be monitored there were no performance differences to working alone. This was consistent with a model suggesting that mere presence effects are due to an increase in arousal and alertness which varies with the potential physical threat of the person present. Measures of behaviour from a video‐recording showed large decreases in the frequency of body movements, hand movements, and talking to oneself, when in the presence of another person. These were interpreted as social valuation effects rather than as the effects of alertness and arousal increases. That is, in the presence of another person, these behaviours became negatively valued. The implications of these results for all three models were discussed.