d each other even when they have no explicit reason to feel so. Or one of the individual's may compare his performance with the other person and want to do better, thus providing some sort of internal competition that does not depend on what the other person does. Further, in most social situations we all tend worry about being rejected and want to be liked and accepted. When someone else is in the room, there is always the possibility that he is judging you. The other person may be totally unconcerned with you, but there is a tendency to assume that he is evaluating you.
Another factor effecting social facilitation is the distraction caused by others when attempting to learn something new, such as within a library setting during exam tine. Being distracted not only directly interferes with task performance, but also raises drive because of the feelings of annoyance and frustration it breeds (Freedman & Sears, 1981, p. 561). Lastly, another factor effecting how we perform a task is social behavior. Certain reactions such as laughing, blushing and feeling embarrassed usually happen only when others are around to elicit these feelings. Others' reactions to these behaviors can impact a persons performance level.
When people are together and interact, though not as members of the same group, they often have the choice of "competition versus cooperation" (Freedman & Sears, 1981, p. 562). In using the analogy of a game, one person wins the other loses. And since everyone likes to win, it might be thought that people would try to maximize the opportunity to win whether the strategy was to work together or compete. However, that is not al
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