AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Hawthorne Effect is when subjects of an experimental study attempt to change or improve their behavior simply because it is being evaluated or studied. The term was coined during experiments that took place at Western Electric’s factory in the Hawthorne suburb of Chicago in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Detailed explanation-2: -Hawthorne, however, set the individual in a social context, arguing that employees’ performance is influenced by work surroundings and coworkers as much as by employee ability and skill.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Hawthorne (observer) effect is a change in human behavior as a result of increased attention on a problem. For example, a study reported an increase in the quality of breast examinations simply due to the clinicians’ awareness that exam quality was receiving focused attention.

Detailed explanation-4: -THE HAWTHORNE EFFECT – an increase in worker productivity produced by the psychological stimulus of being singled out and made to feel important. Believe it or not, the beginning of the team building activities idea can be traced back to the late 1920s and early 1930s with the now classic Hawthorne Studies.