Psyched Up or Psyched Out? The Influence of Coactor Status on Individual Performance

Francis J. Flynn () and Emily T. Amanatullah ()
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Francis J. Flynn: Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
Emily T. Amanatullah: McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712

Organization Science, 2012, vol. 23, issue 2, 402-415

Abstract: We propose that performing an independent task alongside a coactor who is an outstanding performer will improve a focal actor's performance. In three studies that ranged from laboratory participants solving anagrams and playing video games to professional golfers competing in the Masters Tournament, performance improved more in the presence of a high-performing coactor than in the presence of a weak-performing coactor. However, when people were asked to compete directly with a strong performer, their own performance declined. In sum, when faced with the anxiety of performing alongside a high-status coactor, independent coaction led people to become “psyched up,” whereas direct competition led them to become “psyched out.”

Keywords: status; social facilitation; coaction; competition; performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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