<- Product Newsletter /

#23 - What is the Hawthorne Effect?

Sent the October 13th
Author face
Article written by
Juan Jesús Millo

How to apply the Hawthorne effect?

How can we get unbiased data from actual user cases? Watch them.

It seems easy or very silly, but it is one of the most basic and successful techniques that can exist within research, as it can be a process that goes totally wrong, or on the contrary, that we get out a quite significant amount of qualitative data.

In the vast majority of situations, the process is more than simple: we define the research question for the session, the objective users, a question script and a subsequent data analysis phase.

How to avoid the hawthorne effect

The important thing here, if it is possible, is never to reveal our position in the case where we can at a legal level, why? In the case where this person feels that he or she is being observed he or she will condition his or her behaviour, biasing the contextual observation; this is known as the Hawthorne effect.

This phenomenon is a psychological reaction that occurs when a person feels they are being observed, improving their ability to demonstrate their skills to the observer if it is a simple task, or generating pressure by the inability to meet the fictitious objectives they have set in their head, thinking they are not worth enough or that they are discontenting the observer.

Biases in the hawthorne effect

And how do I not bias the participant? This effect is produced when the person knows that he is being observed, the artificiality of the situation, the belief that he is being evaluated... but it can be corrected by establishing a link with the tester, talking before the session, empathising and creating a pleasant and warm climate for both; the aim is for him to be at ease and not to think that he is being evaluated in any way.

Remember that if you want to take photos, identify the user, or collect any sensitive information you must ask for written permission, don't be a pirate!

Articles & Idea

Google Lens (retired)

Co-initiated and led the design for Google Lens in Assistant defining core interaction, visual language for seeing, and design unification into one cohesive visual intelligence layer. Adrian Z.

Using object-oriented user experience for software development

In order to help our information architects, UX/UI designers, and developers to think uniformly and gain better insight into the customer’s needs, we apply a number of different approaches, Object-Oriented User Experience (OOUX) being one of them. Eduard Khristus

Order and control: ideal online experience for an autistic person

Order and control: ideal online experience for an autistic person. Irina Rusakova

Behavioral Science Can Help to Create the Right Mental Model for your Users

Basically, a mental model is a “deeply ingrained view of how the world works or doesn’t work.” For example, we have a mental model of money. It’s often: “I work to get money, so I can spend it on basic needs and wants.”  Kristen Berman

Earthquakes underwater: How epilepsy shaped my practice as an accessibility-forward designer

When I sat down to write, something I often do as part of my design practice, I realized that I’ve never really written about my own experience with epilepsy. It disappeared back to the dormant neurological hole it came from, and I moved on with my life — my new, normal life.  Alexis Kraus

The two most important steps of the design process aren’t about design

We all know that the design process can get messy. And that’s fine. Every project is different and need its unique approach for full efficiency. On top of that, every designer has their own preferred way of getting to the finish line. That’s obviously fine too. Martin Sandstrom

The ultimate UX Research cheat sheet

How to combine UX Research and Design Thinking in a useful way. Moritz Bittner

How to create a UX writing portfolio

It may seem like UX writing is in a perpetual grey area. Like a lot of design disciplines, the field is having an identity crisis. Jack Riewe

Products

Sketch 69 — Color Variables, Components View and more!

The introduction of Assistants was a big thing this year for Sketch user. If you thought that it was the only major update, you were wrong! Version 69 brings even more revolutionary changes to our workflow!

Radix Icons

A crisp set of 15×15 icons designed by the Modulz team.

Nice 3.0

Bring everything, and everyone, together. Get line of sight over your entire brand story, from the logos to the latest campaign.

Taskade

Map out your workflow, from ideas to action.Taskade looks like a simple task list, but it's actually a tree structured database that can transform into any workflows.

No Code

Nocode is the smartest way to publish and host blazing fast, super secure and easy to manage websites built from your Google Docs.

Color Controversy

If you're reading this, it's likely you have millions of cone cells in your eyes. Not bad, eh? Not only that, trichromats, but you (probably) have three types - Short, Medium, and Long.

The next century of Futura

It’s difficult to imagine the 20th century without Futura. Released by the Bauer Type Foundry in 1927, Paul Renner’s Futura was a near-instant hit that quickly established itself as an iconic, immovable piece of our shared culture.

Remote Jobs 

All remote jobs links have been removed, as the positions were fulfilled.