PsychologyChapter 14Social influences on behaviorHuman behavior is influenced powerful by the social environment in which it occurs.We behave as we do not just because of who we are, but also because of the social situations in which we find ourselves.Social pressure: the entire set of psychological forces that are exerted on us by others whether real or imagined.We are most strongly influenced by those people who are physically or psychologically closed to us.Social pressure arises from the ways we interpret and respond emotionally to the social situations around us.It promotes our social acceptability and helps create order and predictability in social interactions. Facilitating and interfering effects of an audienceSocial facilitation: the enhancing effect of an audience on task performance.Social interference: a decline in performance when observers are present.Facilitation of ‘easy’ tasks, interference with ‘hard’ onesThe presence of others facilitates performance of dominant actions and interferes with performance of nondominant actions.Dominant actions: actions that are so simple, speciestypical, or well learned that they can be produced automatically, with little consciously thoughtNondominant actins: actions that require considerable conscious thought or attentionThe presence of an audience increases a person’s level of drive or arousal.The arousal increases the person’s effort, which facilitates dominant tasks where the amount of effort determines the degree of success.The arousal...