Considerable research has investigated the effects of social facilitat
ion on either positive or neutral behaviors, but little if any researc
h has examined whether the presence of others can lead to greater leve
ls of negative behavior. The purpose of this project was to explore th
e influence of social facilitation on patterns and severity of offense
s committed by juvenile delinquents. Study 1 compared the severity of
crime (as measured by the offense classification) as a function of 130
currently incarcerated juvenile delinquents' self-reports of whether
their crime was committed alone or with others. Results suggested that
juveniles tend to act in concert with others in delinquent acts. Whit
e females tended to act in concert with others more than African-Ameri
can female adolescents in the commission of delinquent acts. However,
no significant effects were found for social facilitation and severity
of crime, even when controlling for MMPI lie scores. Study 2 addresse
d the same question, but used an archival approach. Data was obtained
for criminal charges and whether the crime happened in the presence or
absence of others from random sample of 30 records from a juvenile de
linquency home. The best predictor of severity of crime from this samp
le was the number of people involved with the crime. The study therefo
re provides limited support for Zajonc's drive theory that suggests so
cial facilitation can have a non-directional effect on behavior.