Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the progress and problems of distraction–conflict
theory. Distraction–conflict theory suggests that attentional conflict might be the key mediator
of drive in research settings. This chapter reviews the research and argues that—despite a
good deal of corroborating data for some of the major contentions of distraction–conflict
theory—attentional mechanisms may offer a more parsimonious account of social facilitation
phenomena than does a drive perspective. Distraction–conflict theory can account post hoc�…