WHEN AUDIENCE PRESENCE IS ENJOYABLE - THE INFLUENCE OF AUDIENCE AWARENESS OF PRIOR SUCCESS ON PERFORMANCE AND TASK INTEREST

Subjects received positive feedback on a practice anagram task and the n performed a similar task in front of either an audience that was awa re of their prior success or an audience that was unaware of their pri or success. Two control conditions were included in which subjects per formed alone after receiving positive feedback or performed alone with out feedback. Results indicated subjects' task interest and performanc e increased under conditions in which they performed in front of unawa re audiences. In addition, subjects' task interest and performance lev els decreased in the presence of audiences that were aware of their pr ior success. These results point to an important role of audience awar eness in setting performance standards and expectations. These finding s are interpreted from a resource-investment analysis of task value an d performance. Implications for surveillance in public settings and in the workplace (e.g., automated computer monitoring) are discussed.