Hawthorne effect

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".

  1. ^ McCarney R, Warner J, Iliffe S, van Haselen R, Griffin M, Fisher P (2007). "The Hawthorne Effect: a randomised, controlled trial". BMC Med Res Methodol. 7: 30. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-7-30. PMC 1936999. PMID 17608932.
  2. ^ Fox NS, Brennan JS, Chasen ST (2008). "Clinical estimation of fetal weight and the Hawthorne effect". Eur. J. Obstet. Gynecol. Reprod. Biol. 141 (2): 111–114. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2008.07.023. PMID 18771841.
  3. ^ a b Levitt SD, List JA (2011). "Was there really a Hawthorne effect at the Hawthorne plant? An analysis of the original illumination experiments" (PDF). American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 3: 224–238. doi:10.1257/app.3.1.224.
  4. ^ Schonfeld IS, Chang CH (2017). Occupational health psychology: Work, stress, and health. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-0-8261-9967-6.
  5. ^ Singletary R (March 21, 2017). "Henry Landsberger 1926-2017". Department of Sociology. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017.
  6. ^ Landsberger HA (1958). Hawthorne Revisited. Ithaca: Cornell University. OCLC 61637839.