Hawthorne effect
Social phenomenon by which being observed causes behavioral changes / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Hawthorne effect is a type of human behavior reactivity in which individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed.[1][2] The effect was discovered in the context of research conducted at the Hawthorne Western Electric plant; however, some scholars think the descriptions are fictitious.[3]
The original research involved workers who made electrical relays at the Hawthorne Works, a Western Electric plant in Cicero, Illinois. Between 1924 and 1927, the lighting study was conducted, wherein workers experienced a series of lighting changes that were said to increase productivity. This conclusion turned out to be false.[3] In an Elton Mayo study that ran from 1927 to 1928, a series of changes in work structure were implemented (e.g. changes in rest periods) in a group of six women. However, this was a methodologically poor, uncontrolled study from which no firm conclusions could be drawn.[4] Elton Mayo later conducted two additional experiments to study the phenomenon: the mass interviewing experiment (1928-1930) and the bank wiring observation experiment (1931-32).
One of the later interpretations by Henry Landsberger, a sociology professor at UNC-Chapel Hill,[5] suggested that the novelty of being research subjects and the increased attention from such could lead to temporary increases in workers' productivity.[6] This interpretation was dubbed "the Hawthorne effect".