Norman Triplett

Norman Triplett was a psychologist best known for discovering that people tend to perform better on certain tasks when they are in the presence of others. In his famous experiments from the late 1800s, he observed that cyclists and children played or competed more vigorously when others were watching or competing alongside them. This phenomenon, called social facilitation, suggests that the presence of an audience or competitors can enhance or sometimes hinder performance, depending on the task. Triplett’s work laid foundational insights into how social context influences individual behavior and performance.