PsychologySocial Influence and Group Processes

The presence of others creates arousal and can raise the performance…

The presence of others creates arousal and can raise the performance of a person who is already good at a task. This improvement is found when the person's efforts are:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (2) → evaluated individually by those present

Option	Reason
Option (1): coordinated with the work of the other members. Incorrect.	Improper coordination among members is one of the explanations offered for the fall in effort when people work on a collective task.
Option (2): evaluated individually by those present. Correct.	Arousal lifts the work of a skilled person only when that person's own effort can be judged, so the gain needs individual evaluation.
Option (3): compared with the total output of the whole group. Incorrect.	Reading a person's work as part of the group's pooled output is the condition under which motivation and effort fall.
Option (4): kept hidden from the other members. Incorrect.	Work kept out of the sight of others gives a member the chance to relax and become a free rider.

NCERT (2026-27): “Social Loafing
Social facilitation research suggests that presence of others leads to arousal and can motivate individuals to enhance their performance if they are already good at solving something. This enhancement occurs when a person’s efforts are individually evaluated. What would happen if efforts of an individual in a group are pooled so that you look at the performance of the group as a whole? Do you know what often happens? It has been found that individuals work less hard in a group than they do when performing alone. This points to a phenomenon referred to as ‘social loafing’. …”

The presence of others creates arousal and can raise the performance of a person who is already good at a task. This improvement is found when the person's efforts are:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (2) → evaluated individually by those present

Option	Reason
Option (1): coordinated with the work of the other members. Incorrect.	Improper coordination among members is one of the explanations offered for the fall in effort when people work on a collective task.
Option (2): evaluated individually by those present. Correct.	Arousal lifts the work of a skilled person only when that person's own effort can be judged, so the gain needs individual evaluation.
Option (3): compared with the total output of the whole group. Incorrect.	Reading a person's work as part of the group's pooled output is the condition under which motivation and effort fall.
Option (4): kept hidden from the other members. Incorrect.	Work kept out of the sight of others gives a member the chance to relax and become a free rider.