Some cognitive and neuropsychological aspects of social inhibition and facilitation

Individual Differences in Social Facilitation

“…Cognitive tasks which are not well-learned and contain novel sequences of action, require error correction or overcoming a habitual response are thought to require a central processor for execution, while more automatized tasks are delegated to subcortical processes (Wagstaff, Wheatcroft, Cole, Brunas-Wagstaff, Blackmore & Pilkington, 2008). Participants in the present study only performed the non-competitive task two times prior to a presence in the room and thus, it most likely did not elicit a dominant response in terms of Zajonc.…”

“…In addition, shifting of attention involves cognitive flexibility and is relatively effortful (Troyer & Craik, 2000). As a result of a verbal fluency study, Wagstaff, et al (2008) determined that the presence of others places high demands on the frontal and executive systems, leaving a reduced amount of processing capacity to dedicate to performing tasks which require executive capacity. Evidence also indicates that the presence of others may facilitate performance on tasks which rely less on frontal and executive processing and more on subcortical processing.…”

“…One way tasks can be classified is to address the manner in which information is processed. There is a hierarchical structure for information processing including a supervisory mechanism or executive system involved in controlling the operation of information processing subsystems (Wagstaff, Wheatcroft, Cole, Brunas-Wagstaff, Blackmore & Pilkington, 2008). Cognitive tasks which are not well learned, contain novel sequences of action, require error correction, situations judged to be dangerous or technically difficult and those that require overcoming a habitual response are thought to require a central processor for execution.…”

“…This central processor is in charge of with switching of attention between tasks and interference between competing systems (Elfgren & Risberg, 1998). Wagstaff, et al(2008) proposed that the presence of others can place high demands on the central processor, especially if others are perceived as potentially threatening, leaving less available capacity to work on the task at hand. In contrast, the presence of others facilitates performance on routine tasks, not only through drive, but by reducing the inhibitory effects on such tasks.…”

How effective is retrieval support for witnesses with different levels of working and source memory?

“…Furthermore, the SAI© is completed in the absence of an interviewer. The presence of others has been found to increase cognitive load and to impair performance in tasks involving frontal activity (Wagstaff et al, 2008). Retrieval from memory is such a task (Kane & Engle, 2002).…”