What is the Hawthorne Effect?

Sometimes, when a group carries out an investigation where the performance of the participants in a task is evaluated, they do it above what is usual for them. This is not due to a newly discovered innate talent, but to what scientists call the 'Hawthorne effect'..

This effect, discovered almost by accident by Elton Mayo more than 80 years ago, seems to show up especially in research situations. We briefly explain his history and the different interpretations he has received..

Experiments at the Hawthorne factory

AND. Mayo, an Austrian industrial psychologist, carried out a series of experiments in the factory between 1924 and 1933. Hawthorne, in order to investigate the relationship between light conditions and the productivity of their employees.

In the initial phase of the study, Mayo divided the workers into two groups: one worked under the same lighting conditions and the other under a light that the experimenters were turning off little by little. bit. Contrary to expectations, both groups gradually increased their performance.

This unexpected event motivated Mayo to continue evaluating the relationships between yield and other physical variables., such as those that cause fatigue and monotony in the workers. Once again, it was found that although the changes introduced were detrimental a priori, the performance improved.

The most surprising thing about the study was that, even in the stages in which conditions were less favorable, there was no decrease in production as expected. predicted, which revealed the influence of variables other than those initially considered relevant by the researchers, such as factors social, in the productivity explanation.

The conclusions of the Mayo experiment

The Mayo group concluded that this was due to the research situation itself and the presence of experimenters, phenomenon that in 1953 received the name of "Hawthorne effect" in honor of the facilities where the research.

However, the workers had a different opinion.. For them, the factor that had the most weight in the continuous increase in performance was the improvement of personal relations between workers and management. Apparently, in an effort to promote collaboration, the experimenters created a warm climate where special attention was paid to the demands of the workers and they felt heard.

This suggestion became a conclusion and served as the basis, years later, for a new trend in the administration and management of companies that I would put the emphasis on human relations, and would soon replace the current that emphasized efficiency and productivity through scientific study.

What do we know about the Hawthorne effect?

In general, the most accepted modern definition describes the Hawthorne effect as follows: the Hawthorne effect is the enhancement of results simply by being part of an investigation or the increase in performance due to the introduction of a certain change in a study.

Social psychologists propose that subjects, realizing that they are being observed, generate beliefs about what the experimenters expect of them. Motivated by conformity and social desirability, individuals change their behavior to align you with these beliefs.

It is impossible to give a precise answer about its mechanisms, since each discipline has taken the name of the “Hawthorne effect” to describe different phenomena, and therefore propose explanations different. Due to this, its meaning has been mutating and investigating the effect has been confusing and not very rigorous.

From the multiple definitions proposed by social psychologists, six characteristics are extracted that are typical of the situations in which the Hawthorne effect occurs:

• Novelty of the situation.
• Artificiality of the situation.
• Changes introduced in the experiment.
• The worker's belief that the situation is beneficial for him.
• Awareness of being studied or observed by an evaluator.
• Reduced worker boredom.

Frequently, researchers establish a good relationship with the subjects in order to get them to collaborate with them. Thus, the experimenter may be introducing changes in behavior through the creation of a warm climate and an environment where workers' complaints and suggestions are heard.

Criticism of the concept

In the context of research, the Hawthorne effect is any alteration in behavior as a consequence of its observation or study. For this reason, some authors point out that it is an a posteriori interpretation of unexpected results, especially when these are contrary to the initial hypothesis.

Even Mayo's original investigations have been questioned and criticized numerous times.. Alternative interpretations of performance enhancement have been offered that shake the foundations of research.

For example, the cessation of strict supervision of employers, receiving positive attention, the introduction of rest breaks or the perceived possibility of losing a job are alternative explanations to those originally proposed by Mayo and his collaborators.

The experiments also received other negative criticism of their design; the experts who worked did not have research training and the results were not sufficiently contrasted.

Today, most of the research dedicated to the validation of the Hawthorne effect concludes that there is not enough evidence to support its existence.

Thus, a concept that for years has served as a scapegoat in the scientific literature is probably no more than a reflection of a interpretation bias of the results decades ago.