Audience-induced inhibition of overt practice during learning.

Three experiments with 204 undergraduates examined the hypothesis that an audience can inhibit overt practice and thereby impair learning of unfamiliar words and enhance learning of familiar words. This hypothesis was derived from an analysis of motoric and symbolic mediation during learning. In comparison with learning while alone, the results show that the audience inhibited overt practice of unfamiliar and familiar words and that reduced practice was detrimental to learning unfamiliar words. Inhibition of overt practice with an audience enhanced learning of familiar words in only 1 of the experiments. Instructions to practice overtly reduced the audience-inhibition effect in learning unfamiliar words. The studies are discussed in the context of drive-theory explanations for social facilitation effects in learning. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)