Behaving Like the Boys

So let’s turn to quantum physics and Werner Heisenberg’s Principle of Uncertainty, which says, in essence: The behavior of the subject under observation is altered by the presence of the viewing apparatus. Heisenberg discovered in the 1920s that the movement of electrons is altered under the light of a microscope; why shouldn’t the behavior of first-grade girls be affected by the presence of first-grade boys?

A concomitant theory in social sciences is called the Hawthorne Effect. Seeking ways to improve employee productivity, researchers at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works found that workers would produce more as lights were turned brighter in their work area—but they also produced more as light was decreased. The explanation was that they worked harder because they knew they were being observed. (Some said they felt “special” because their employer was manifestly interested in their efforts.) 

Most of us behave at least a little differently in front of different people. We are polite to our grandmothers, patronizing to police officers, and gruff to panhandlers. Often, modifications in demeanor are not only conscious, but planned—as when protestors chant and wave signs while television cameras are rolling, but head home as soon as the reporters leave. It is the Hawthorne Effect that accounts for the unreality of reality television.

Good reporters become acutely aware that they can influence the behavior of their subjects. During interviews—under observation—subjects naturally engage in a bit of preening and posturing. Jack Gordon, who wrote the feature in this issue about an immigrant grocer named Tuan Pham, is particularly good at getting subjects to present themselves without pretense, as I think you’ll agree he did this month.

Happily, the issue of altering the behavior of a subject does not arise when a story focuses on a trend in commercial, municipal, or economic development—as does this month’s cover story by Gene Rebeck. Read it first.