Audience effect

The audience effect is the impact that a passive audience has on a subject performing a task. It was first formally noted in various psychology studies in the early 20th century. During some studies the presence of a passive audience facilitated the better performance of a task; while in other studies the presence of a passive audience inhibited the performance of a task. The effect has been observed in subjects ranging from cockroaches to humans.

In 1965, Robert Zajonc proposed Drive theory as an explanation of the audience effect.