Psychology's first-ever experiment found kids reel faster with a rival beside them

In 1898, Norman Triplett timed children winding a fishing reel alone, then again next to a competitor. Almost every child sped up once a rival was present. His write-up is widely credited as the first published experiment in social psychology, launching a century of research into how being watched or matched changes performance.

— Norman Triplett, The Dynamogenic Factors in Pacemaking and Competition — American Journal of Psychology, 1898