#audience effect

[brudnopis]

Them's fightin' birds: Study identifies other species' influence on territorial aggression

A social behavior known as the "audience effect" has long been reported among humans. From children tussling on a playground to a sports team's home field advantage, competitors can be influenced by who is watching.

[tornbread]

Interestingly, the audience effect doesn’t necessarily require a big audience. This seems particularly true online. Many people have told me that they feel the dynamic kick in with even a tiny handful of viewers. I’d argue that the cognitive shift in going from an audience of zero (talking to yourself) to an audience of 10 (a few friends or random strangers checking out your online post) is so big that it’s actually huger than going from 10 people to a million.

Clive Thompson ("Thinking Out Loud," Wired)