Social facilitation and social monitoring: A new look at Zajonc's mere presence hypothesis

Fifteen years ago Zajonc proposed a drive theory of social facilitation to account for the discrepancies in the literature at that time (Zajonc, 1965). That article has since been catalyst to as many, if not more, studies as had previously existed. It is now suggested that refinements are needed to this drive theory to explain discrepancies in the more recent literature. Specifically, a model based on the conditions of monitoring other persons can plausibly account for the data. A survey of the empirical studies shows that the conditions for which social monitoring is not possible are those conditions for which the mere presence of others affects task performance.