Definition: The Hawthorne effect refers to the inclination of some people to work harder and perform better when they are being observed as part of an experiment.
Description: Under the Hawthorne effect, it was observed that individuals being observed would change their behaviour and become more productive not because there was any change in any variable such as working conditions or new machinery, but solely because of the attention they were getting.
It is also referred to as the study of employee productivity. It was named after one of the most famous experiments in industrial history. It involves the study of human behaviour, under a specific set of conditions (variables) which are changed to conclude the experiment.
Let's understand with the help of an example. If a person conducting an experiment were to ask a subject how many times he had heard the word "Lion" in the previous week, the subject or the respondent might answer three or four times.
But if the subject or the respondent(s) is asked the same question the following week, he/she will probably say that they have heard the word "Lion" from several other sources which could be their neighbours, family, TV etc.
Let's analyse what happened. In this particular situation, the outcome of the result does not mean that the instance of "Lion" suddenly rose from one week to the next and so on.
But, the more reasonable conclusion is just that the subject or the respondent was paying much more attention to "Lion" the second week, after it was called to their attention.
Description: Under the Hawthorne effect, it was observed that individuals being observed would change their behaviour and become more productive not because there was any change in any variable such as working conditions or new machinery, but solely because of the attention they were getting.
It is also referred to as the study of employee productivity. It was named after one of the most famous experiments in industrial history. It involves the study of human behaviour, under a specific set of conditions (variables) which are changed to conclude the experiment.
Let's understand with the help of an example. If a person conducting an experiment were to ask a subject how many times he had heard the word "Lion" in the previous week, the subject or the respondent might answer three or four times.
But if the subject or the respondent(s) is asked the same question the following week, he/she will probably say that they have heard the word "Lion" from several other sources which could be their neighbours, family, TV etc.
Let's analyse what happened. In this particular situation, the outcome of the result does not mean that the instance of "Lion" suddenly rose from one week to the next and so on.
But, the more reasonable conclusion is just that the subject or the respondent was paying much more attention to "Lion" the second week, after it was called to their attention.
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