HAWTHORNE EFFECT

A term referring to the tendency of some people to work harder and perform better when they are participants in an experiment. Individuals may change their behavior due to the attention they are receiving from researchers rather than because of any manipulation of independent variables. In a collaborative effort, the effect can enhance results by creating a sense of teamwork and common purpose. In other words, if participants know they are a part of an experiment that can lead to improved efforts of the people involved, this creates a distortion of research results caused by the response of participants to the special attention they receive from researchers.  Production increased not because of actual changes in working conditions introduced by the teacher, but because teachers demonstrated an interest in such improvements often referred as (self fulfilling prophecy). “Experiments included altering lighting levels on the shop floor. Productivity increased when the lighting level was increased and increased again when lighting levels were reduced”.