Social influence in sport: mediating and moderating factors

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Abstract

Social facilitation is the effect that others have on motor or cognitive performance through their mere presence. Previous studies in sports have recently been systematically summarised, noting that performance on conditioning tasks increases in the presence of others, while no increase or decrease in performance on coordination tasks has been observed (van Meurs et al., 2022). While studies on social facilitation focus on the presence of others without interaction with the participants, the influence of cheering or booing spectators is also investigated. However, bystander behaviour does not always have the intended effect: both field and laboratory studies have shown contradictory results or null effects. Nevertheless, bystander influences are thought to arise from mediators such as threat perception (e.g. Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), self-presentation tendencies (e.g. Wallace et al., 2005), emotional support (e.g. Hennessy et al., 2009) or increased perceived importance of performance (e.g. Strauss, 2002), leading to performance pressure and thus improvement or deterioration (cf. Strauss et al., 2023). Performance pressure is potentially moderated by the nature and behaviour of the audience, the actor:s, the nature of the motor task and the specific skill (e.g. Epting et al., 2011). The present systematic review attempts to survey existing studies on the effects of active bystanders on motor performance in order to define mediating and moderating factors in motor performance and to identify research gaps. In the first step, 11,015 entries were found in eleven scientific databases (Scopus, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Sport Discus, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertations, OvidSP, PsyArXiv, OSF Preprints, SportRxiv, Theses Commons). At the time of submission, 97 studies will be screened for eligibility after a title and abstract screening. The selected studies will be summarised and their proposed mediators and moderators will be integrated into a testable model. The model can guide future social psychological studies on the influence of spectators and could, for example, provide explanations for the inconclusive results of the studies on home advantage.

Speakers from the University of Münster

Strauß, Bernd	Professorship for Sport Psychology (Prof. Strauß)
van Meurs, Edda	Professorship for Sport Psychology (Prof. Strauß)