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Strengths Of An Experiment: The Hawthorne Effect In Schools

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Strengths Of An Experiment: The Hawthorne Effect In Schools
Strengths within the experimental method used in the study were that of replication, control, time, ethics and focus. The experiment was easy to replicate with a standardised procedure. We can be assured that each replication of the experiment with all 20 participants went almost identically to one another, due to the predetermined speech given and replicated setup of the classroom and the positioning of each of the experimenters and participants. There was high internal validity within experiment, meaning high levels of control due to precise control of independent variables (independent relating to the age of participants) The experiment was quick and easy, meaning that full attention was given by participants; they did not get tired or show …show more content…
The occurrence of the Hawthorne effect is a weakness within the experiment, the Hawthorne effect being the change in one’s behaviour due to the awareness of being observed. It is likely that participants behaviours were altered due to awareness of being studied under deep scrutiny; participants most likely felt higher levels of discomfort and/or stress due to the knowing of being observed, and because of these potential behavioural alterations, reactions times may have slowed and more mistakes could have been made under the pressure of being …show more content…
All participants attend school regularly, with a routine that is likely to differ very little throughout the week. Experiment was held at school but was entirely different to the routine participants were used to. This could have significantly affected behaviours from participants. The participants behaviours were likely to alter within the experimental setting due to feeling uncomfortable or uneasy about the change in their ordinary routine and the change in attitude given by the experimenters, who at the time were unemotional, and non-talkative, unlike what the experimenters were usually like outside of the experimental conditions. The setup and atmosphere of class was also altered due to the rearrangement of desks and formality of situation, again likely heightening the participants feeling of discomfort and/or unease. The experiment is not mundane, and does not relate to participants regular lives in any way, so respectively we can not assume that results are completely accurate based on the knowledge that reaction times may have changed due to alteration of behaviours and participants potentially not acting as their regular
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