Effects that Effect Research
The Hawthorne Effect

Reactivity whereby subjects improve an
aspect of their behavior being
experimentally measured simply in
response to the fact that they are being
studied
The Hawthorne Effect

Western Electric manufacturing facility outside
Chicago). Hawthorne Works had commissioned
a study to see if its workers would become more
productive in higher or lower levels of light. The
workers' productivity seemed to improve when
changes were made and slumped when the
study was concluded. It was suggested that the
productivity gain was due to the motivational
effect of the interest being shown in them.
Examples

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_YAJtJ
mPLE
The John Henry Effect

The John Henry effect is when people in
your control group views itself as being in
competition with the treatment group and
so changes its behavior.

This comes from the story of John Henry
trying to lay railroad track faster than the
The Novelty Effect:

Human Performance, is the tendency for
performance to initially improve when new
technology is instituted, not because of
any actual improvement in learning or
achievement, but in response to increased
interest in the new technology
Example:


Build a new baseball stadium = Temporary
increase in attendance because its new.
Texting vs. Calling
The Placebo Effect:



Placebo Effect- The phenomenon of an
inert substance resulting in a patient's
medical improvement
if the substance is viewed as helpful, it can
heal, but if it is viewed as harmful, it can
cause negative effects
Examples?
The Influence of the Researcher
Bias

Bias- scientists view results differently based on other
influences.

Possible Influences:
•
Money
•
Ideology
•
Laziness
•
Career
•
Conflicts of Interest
Data Manipulation



Fabrication – the actual making up of
research data and (the intent of)
publishing them
Falsification – manipulation of research
data and processes in order to reflect or
prevent a certain result
Obfuscation – The Omission of critical
data or results
Eliminating Bias
• Eliminating Bias:
• Run many trials
• Keep accurate notes of observations
• Have other scientists run the exact test and
compare results
Peer Reviewed Research:

Peer Reviewed Studies


Research that is published in prestigious
journals that must pass the scrutiny of other
researchers
Double Blind Studies:

Two groups of individuals are tested. One
group is the control and given a placebo. The
other group is given the experimental
variable.

Anecdotal Evidence:

•
Weakest form of evidence
Observations about a treatment or substance
that have not been verified by science