Hawthorne Effect
Hawthorne effect, it is the people's tendency to behave differently when they are aware of being observed. The result is that what's observed isn't normal behavior. This thereby threatens the external and internal validity of a conducted research.
Hawthorne effect or the observer effect gets linked to observer bias. Like other research biasedness, the effect occurs during experimental or observational study designs. These designs can be from organizational psychology, medicine, education, or any other field.
What is Hawthorne Effect?
The observer effect is a result of participants' behavioral change. It results from getting observed and not due to intervention. The change in behavior is either negative or positive. It all depends on the research context. An example of Hawthorne effect is-
People participating in experiments related to nutrition might improve their diet. It's because they are being a part of the experiment.
It's notable that, herein participants must remain aware of getting observed. It's only then this effect occurs. So, the effect is the performance bias subtype.
Benefits of Hawthorne Effect
Some benefits of Hawthorne Effect are,
- It helps with enhanced productivity. When observed, employees work harder. It leads to improved output.
- Quality gets improved. Awareness about observation leads to thorough and careful work.
- There is a positive work environment as it promotes a sense of importance. It also promotes value among employees.
- It helps employees to have valuable info or behavioral insights about performance. It aids in better management strategies.
Hawthorne Effect Criticism
Conclusion of Hawthorne studies recent research shows that the findings got overstated. They had flaws. There were some differences between the control groups and the experimental groups. It led to confounding variables introduced. The experimenters at the time were unaware of it. It's likely that other factors also played a role in the original study.
It was difficult to determine how participant awareness creates an impact on study results. But the researchers must keep it in mind when they design studies. They should also do so while interpreting results with the research that's human-centered.
How to Reduce Hawthorne Effect?
The Hawthorne Effect is avoidable. There are a few things to do to reduce it.
- Make an investment in interpersonal relationships at the site of study. To sustain contact with the participants, it reduces the reactivity of participants. It also improves data collection's quality.
- Give the participants the tasks that remain unrelated to the study's purpose. It can mask the objectives of research from participants. Make sure it's ethical, though.
- When possible, opt for covert or naturalistic observation. It will help observe people in natural surroundings without getting seen. There will be a downside to it, too. Like, the ability of drawing conclusions on casual relationships/generalizing other contexts is limited. There will also be other implications, such as participant privacy or informed consent.
Is the Hawthorne Effect Real?
Even though the effect gets taught as part of sociology courses and in business schools, questions about its validity are coming more often. As per Scientific American, of 1st three original experiments,
- One showed improved productivity.
- Second, it showed no improvement in productivity.
- Third, it showed worsened productivity.
What's suspicious here is, destruction of data got ordered by study's sponsors. Everything, including data sent to MIT, is to get destroyed. No report is to be in writing, too. When original data resurfaced, many scholars debunked initial findings. Modern attempts for replicating the Hawthorne Effect are also inconclusive. Only 7 in 40 conducted studies gave any evidence. So, none knows more than what's available on the internet today. But it's for sure that more research will keep on coming with time.
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