We investigated how people cope with criticism of themselves and their contributions to a group effort, and how the presence of an audience affects the lines of action chosen by the criticized person. Three types of audiences (no audience, friend to the criticized person, stranger to both the criticized and the criticizer) were studied. We found that the presence of any type of audience makes for withdrawal of the criticized from the interaction. Sex differences in audience support of the criticized were found with girls more likely to object.