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Abstract
An understanding of the effects of the presence of others in the treatment environment on the client is important to the field of occupational therapy. This study investigated the impact of social facilitation by comparing individuals working in the presence of another on a work hardening task to individuals working on the same type of task alone. The dependent variable was the quanitity of work completed in a nut-and-bolt assembly task. The sample of 24 male and 24 female non-occupational therapy undergraduate students enrolled in a Midwestern university were randomly assigned to either group. Data analysis indicated that individuals who performed the task in the presence of another had significantly higher assembly scores than those who completed the task in seclusion, F (1,44) = 13.4, p < .01. Analysis also revealed significant differences between the genders, F (1,44) = 23.6, p < 1.01, with males completing more assemblies than females. Implications of this study to the practice of occupational therapy and knowledge base of social facilitation are discussed, and suggestions for further research are presented.