170 | The Hawthorne Effect

What this episode covers

Workplace performance, be it group or an individual, is something that has been studied for decades. Nearly 100 years ago, a series of studies on worker performance yielded an interpretation that an increase in productivity occurred regardless of the manipulation of the independent variable. Researchers at the time attributed these changes to the presence of the experimenters, noting that workers must be trying to please them per the experiment at hand. More recent interpretations have shifted, and extraneous variables present during the original experiment and failure to find evidence of such an effect in later studies have led researchers to believe the Hawthorne Effect to be a myth. Conventional belief is that any change in worker performance can be directly related to factors in the environment or changes in reinforcement and punishment schedules, be it pay, workplace conditions, or social structures. Links for Today: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/baycollege-introbusiness/chapter/video-hawthorne-studies-at-att/ https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hawthorne-effect.asp#:~:text=The%20Hawthorne%20Effect%20refers%20to%2Cbecause%20they%20are%20being%20observed.&text=The%20Hawthorne%20experiments%20were%20originally%2Ctelephone%20parts%20factory%20in%20Hawthorne. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-hawthorne-effect-2795234 https://youtu.be/KKBw4Im2iwk https://us.experteer.com/magazine/impact-of-hawthorne-effect-on-productivity-at-work/ https://www.statisticshowto.com/experimental-design/hawthorne-effect/ https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-glossary-of-human-computer-interaction/demand-characteristics Recommendations: Shane: The Beastie Boys Araham: Science Friday Podcast https://www.sciencefriday.com/) You can reach us directly at 775.525.0908, at [email protected], through the comments below OR on social via @wwdwwdpodcast or #wwdwwdpodcast.