| Course | PS390 Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 390 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PS390 Unit 1
Brighter Lights Will Not Fix the Phones: A PS390 Unit 1 Discussion Board Post on the Hawthorne Studies
PS390 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post
Posted by [Student Name]
The writer, the call center, the manager and the classmates are composite; the sources cited are real.
Initial Post
I coordinate hiring and training for the customer service center of a regional electric utility in Charlotte, North Carolina, where about two hundred representatives answer billing and outage calls. In October, our center manager proposed brighter overhead lights and more visible cameras on the floor. "It's the Hawthorne effect," he said. "People work harder when they know they're being watched."
The phrase comes from studies at Western Electric's Hawthorne plant near Chicago in the 1920s and early 1930s, among the founding studies of industrial and organizational psychology. Researchers first varied lighting and found that output often rose whether lights went up or down, then studied small groups of workers assembling relays under changing conditions of breaks, hours and pay. The popular conclusion was that attention itself raises productivity.
Later scholars looked again. Adair (1984) reviewed the evidence and argued that the Hawthorne effect, as commonly described, is poorly supported as a general phenomenon; changes in output could be explained by other factors in the studies, such as workers receiving feedback about their performance and changes in pay arrangements. Levitt and List (2011) located and reanalyzed surviving data from the original lighting experiments and found little evidence that output rose in the way the legend describes.
The most famous finding in I/O psychology may be better at teaching humility than at raising productivity.
For our floor, the history points elsewhere. If feedback mattered at Hawthorne, our representatives might benefit more from seeing their own call resolution numbers each week than from being watched more closely. I am proposing that pilot instead, with a comparison team that keeps the current setup for two months.
What idea from I/O history still shapes decisions at your workplace?
Reply to Janelle
Janelle, your example of open-plan offices being sold on "collaboration" sounds similar. It would be worth checking what the research on that claim actually found.
Reply to Victor
Victor, I agree that being observed can change behavior in the short term. Adair (1984) did not deny that; he questioned whether the Hawthorne studies showed it.
References
Adair, J. G. (1984). The Hawthorne effect: A reconsideration of the methodological artifact. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69(2), 334-345. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.69.2.334
Levitt, S. D., & List, J. A. (2011). Was there really a Hawthorne effect at the Hawthorne plant? An analysis of the original illumination experiments. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3(1), 224-238. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.3.1.224
What the PS390 Unit 1 assignment asks for
The first PS390 board asks you to look back at a piece of I/O psychology's history and judge what it still teaches. Pick a famous study or idea and describe a current workplace decision, composite or real, where someone invoked it. Summarize what the original research did and what later scholars concluded when they examined it again. Explain how the corrected history changes the decision you described. Avoid repeating the textbook legend without checking it. Finish by asking peers which historical idea still shapes their own workplaces. Roughly 400 words opens the thread; each of two replies should test another popular claim against evidence. Name one source that revisited the original claim.
How the PS 390 Unit 1 example is put together
The post opens with a manager citing the Hawthorne effect to justify lights and cameras. A paragraph introduces the writer's role at a utility call center. A paragraph describes the Western Electric lighting and relay assembly studies and the popular conclusion. A paragraph summarizes Adair's reconsideration and Levitt and List's reanalysis. A highlighted line suggests the famous finding teaches humility better than productivity. A paragraph proposes weekly feedback on resolution numbers, with a comparison team. The closing question asks which historical idea shapes classmates' workplaces. Replies question open-plan office claims and clarify that Adair did not deny observation effects in general. The proposal includes a comparison team so the pilot can be judged fairly.
PS390 Unit 1 rubric: what earns full points
Strong opening posts treat history as evidence to check, not a story to retell. An accurate account of what the original studies did, and of later reanalysis, earns credit. Connecting the corrected history to a present decision shows why the past matters. Proposing a testable alternative, such as a pilot with a comparison group, demonstrates scientific thinking from the first week. Replies should test another popular claim rather than agree. Cite historical and reanalysis sources in APA style, keeping workplaces composite. A sentence on what the writer would measure to see whether the alternative works usually strengthens the post in graders' eyes. Avoid sweeping claims about all observation. Show the corrected history.
PS390 Unit 1 help: mistakes that cost points
History posts often repeat the textbook version of a famous study without checking later research. Others describe the history without connecting it to any present decision. Students frequently overstate the Hawthorne effect as a proven law or dismiss it entirely. Replies tend to share anecdotes rather than evidence. Before posting, find one later analysis of the study you chose and summarize its conclusion in a sentence. Describe a current decision the history should inform. Propose something you could measure. In replies, name a claim a classmate's workplace relies on and ask what evidence supports it. Keep workplaces and people composite. Then check every date and place against your source.
Get a PS390 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 1 prompt and the rubric. A custom post connects a piece of I/O history to a current workplace. The first is free and comes back in 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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PS390 Unit 1 questions, answered
What were the Hawthorne studies?
Studies at a Western Electric plant in the 1920s and 1930s on how work conditions affect productivity.
What is the Hawthorne effect?
The idea that being observed changes behavior, though later analyses questioned the original evidence.
What should replies add?
A historical idea that still shapes a classmate's workplace.
Where can I find a free PS390 Unit 1 sample paper?
This page holds the complete PS390 Unit 1 post on what the Hawthorne studies really showed, applied to a composite call center, with replies.
What does the PS390 Unit 1 sample propose instead of more cameras?
A pilot giving representatives weekly feedback on their own call resolution numbers, compared with a team that keeps the current setup.