The Hawthorne Effect

Thursday, December 17th, 2009 At 5:36 pm

The Hawthorne Effect is an acclaimed psychological effect, which says that performance on a task improves when you know someone is studying or “watching” an individual.

This particular experiment took place at Hawthorne Works, an electric factory in Chicago in 1930’s. The company commissioned a study to see if its workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light. Interestingly, by changing the levels of light did not decline productivity at all – productivity actually increased with brighter and dimmer lights. As it turned out, it had nothing to do with the working or lighting conditions, but it had to do with the fact that the workers knew they were being studied, with an environmental stimulus.

What does this have to do with fitness? Everything! Having a trainer or working out in a group creates that extra motivation to work harder than you ever would all by yourself with no one watching!

Check out our Metabolic Training, Reaxion Kettlebell and Pilates Classes to get motivated!