What is the "Hawthorne Effect"  and how can social scientists address it?

What will be an ideal response


When the humans being studied know they are being observed or experimented upon, they occasionally alter their normal behavior. This phenomenon is known as the Hawthorne Effect, a term used to describe the observable tendency of some people to exert more effort or perform better on a task if they know they are participating in a research study. Like a crowd responding to a TV camera, the subjects of a social science investigation might want to "assist" or "undermine" the investigator by behaving as they imagine the social scientist might expect (or not expect). We see this in educational research. When a classroom full of students knows their educational performance is being studied, some students, wanting the investigator to think of them as good students, display better classroom behavior than they would ordinarily. Or, wanting the "experiment to work," some students might study harder and try harder on tests than they ordinarily would. Strong critical thinking about gathering reliable social science data requires that the investigator anticipate the possibility that the people being investigated might alter their behavior or their verbal responses simply because they know they are part of a research project. One way that social scientists overcome this risk to the validity of their research is by not telling people what exactly is being studied. In the language of social science methods, this approach is referred to as a blind study because the participants are not aware of the questions that the research team is aiming to answer.

Philosophy & Belief

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Who made the following statement? "With what sort of terrible things, then, is the brave man concerned? Surely with the greatest; for no one is more likely than he to stand his ground against what is awe-inspiring. Now death is the most terrible of all things; for it is the end, and nothing is thought to be any longer either good or bad for the dead. But the brave man would not seem to be concerned with death in all circumstances."

A. Socrates, in the Apology B. Sir Thomas More, in A Man for All Seasons C. Aristotle, in Nicomachean Ethics D. Bergthora, in Njal's Saga

Philosophy & Belief

Locke admits that _________________ is "we know not what."

Fill in the blank(s) with correct word

Philosophy & Belief

Answer the following statement(s) true (T) or false (F)

1. Glaucon uses the story of the Ring of Gyges to express his moral disapproval of anyone who gains an advantage by disregarding the interests of others. 2. The story of the Ring of Gyges indicates that humans will take advantage of any situation if they can get away with it. 3. Psychological egoism is the theory that the only proper way to live is to be selfish. In other words, everyone isn't necessarily selfish by nature, but one ought to be selfish. 4. Glaucon claims that if we gave away two invisibility rings, one to a just person and one to an unjust person, the unjust person would take advantage of the ring, but the just person would not. 5. Thomas Hobbes thought that all acts, even acts of pity, could be attributed to a natural tendency toward selfishness.

Philosophy & Belief

Barnabas is the early mission partner of which Apostle?

a. Peter b. Junia c. Paul d. James

Philosophy & Belief