A famous series of studies, known as the Hawthorne Studies, was the

Question

A famous series of studies, known as the Hawthorne Studies, was the first to explore psychological factors that affect work performance. These studies attempted to investigate the relationship between the level of lighting in the workplace and worker productivity. Researchers divided workers into two similar groups – a test group, who were subjected to changes in lighting, and a control group, whose lighting remained constant. No other changes were made. When the test group's lighting was improved, the group’s productivity increased. But when lighting conditions were made worse, there was also a tendency for productivity to increase in the test group. To compound the mystery, the control group's output also rose, even though the group experienced no changes in lighting. Something besides lighting was influencing the workers' performance. In a new set of experiments, a new test group was placed in a separate room and a number of variables – wages, rest periods, and the length of the workday – were altered in all directions. Again, performance tended to increase over time. The researchers decided that a complex chain of attitudes had caused the productivity increases. Because they had been singled out for the experiments, workers in the test group had developed a group pride that motivated them to improve their work performance. Sympathetic supervision had further reinforced their motivation. The researchers concluded that individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention. This phenomenon was subsequently labeled the Hawthorne Effect.    1 
 1. The passage suggests that the Hawthorne Effect may explain the observation based on which of the following, if true?

A. The control group engaged in their regular work under regular settings.
B. The control group engaged in work that wasn’t affected because of poor lighting.
C. The control group engaged in work that could be performed better in improved lighting.
D. The control group and the test group received the same attention by researchers.
E. The control group and the test group had equally skilled workers.

2 
 2. According to the passage, the researchers ruled out an explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to each of the following EXCEPT

A. an increase in wages
B. a decrease in illumination
C. a change in rest periods
D. an increase in collective dignity
E. a decrease in the workday

3 
 3. Which of the following can be inferred to demonstrate the Hawthorne Effect as mentioned in the passage?

An individual from a large team of athletes setting up a world record soon after the team’s training
A chess prodigy winning an international title after receiving mentorship from a team of leading coaches
A group of college students working on a class assignment and ranking first among all groups in the class
A group of filmmakers collaborating with one another to co-direct a large-budget movie
A crew of an airline improving customer service ratings after being featured in the airline's monthly magazine

RC Butler 2022  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 59 Date: 09-Feb-2022
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2022 .  Click here for Details

Tanvay · Answer

Can someone please explain question 1 & 3

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. The passage suggests that the Hawthorne Effect may explain the observation based on which of the following, if true?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

To introduce a set of experiments performed to relate level of lighting and productivity (First half)
To conclude that group pride improves work performance (Second half)

The second half mentions that the Hawthorne Effect suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”. For Hawthorne Effect to explain the observation in the highlighted text that the control group's output rose,  a connection between the rise in output and any special attention received by the group needs to be established.  Each answer choice needs to be carefully evaluated in light of the information presented in this context.

A.  If the control group engaged in their regular work under regular settings,  this information doesn’t suggest anything related to the "control group being paid special attention”,  and so, Hawthorne Effect, which suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”, cannot explain the rise in output mentioned in the highlighted text. Incorrect.

B.  The passage mentions that the control group’s “lighting remained constant”; if the control group engaged in work that wasn’t affected because of poor lighting, this information about  “unchanged performance in work because of poor lighting” is irrelevant  to the discussion. Additionally, this information doesn’t suggest anything related to the “control group being paid special attention”, and so, Hawthorne Effect, which suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”, cannot explain the rise in output mentioned in the highlighted text. Incorrect.

C. Trap.  The passage mentions that the control group's “lighting remained constant”; if the control group engaged in work that could be performed better in improved lighting, this information about the  "better performance in work because of improved lighting” is irrelevant  to the discussion. Additionally, this information doesn’t suggest anything related to the “control group being paid special attention”, and so, Hawthorne Effect, which suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”, cannot explain the rise in output mentioned in the highlighted text. Incorrect.

D.  Correct.   The second half mentions that the Hawthorne Effect suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”: if the control group and the test group received the same attention by researchers,  both the groups were paid similar “special attention”  and so the rise in the control group's output can be explained on the same lines as the rise in the test group’s output was explained; in other words, the Hawthorne Effect may explain the observation in the highlighted text based on the information that the control group and the test group received the same attention by researchers, as the answer choice mentions.

E.  The first half mentions that the test group and the control group were “similar”; if the control group and the test group had equally skilled workers,  the answer choice adds no new information.  Additionally, this information doesn’t suggest anything related to the “control group being paid special attention”, and so, Hawthorne Effect, which suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”, cannot explain the rise in output mentioned in the highlighted text. Incorrect.

D is the best choice.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. According to the passage, the researchers ruled out an explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to each of the following EXCEPT

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

Mind-map

To introduce a set of experiments performed to relate level of lighting and productivity (First half)
To conclude that group pride improves work performance (Second half)

Each answer choice needs to be carefully evaluated in light of the information presented in the passage.

A.  The first half mentions that in a new set of experiments, “a number of variables” including “wages" were altered in “all directions”, but “performance tended to increase over time”; the  “wages"  were altered in “all directions”, but “performance tended to increase over time”: the second half mentions that “the researchers concluded that individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in other words, the researchers ruled out an explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to an increase in wages. Incorrect.

B.  The first half mentions that  "when lighting conditions were made worse, there was also a tendency for productivity to increase in the test group” and that “something besides lighting was influencing the workers' performance’ ; in other words, the researchers ruled out an explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to a decrease in illumination. Incorrect.

C.  The first half mentions that in a new set of experiments, “a number of variables” including  “rest periods”  were altered in “all directions”, but “performance tended to increase over time”; the second half mentions that “the researchers concluded that individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in other words, the researchers ruled out an explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to a change in rest periods. Incorrect.

D.  Correct.   The second half mentions that  "because they had been singled out for the experiments, workers in the test group had developed a group pride that motivated them to improve their work performance”.  in other words, the researchers offered the explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to an increase in offered the explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to an increase in group pride, or collective dignity, as the answer choice mentions.

E.  The first half mentions that in a new set of experiments, “a number of variables” including  “the length of the workday”  were altered in “all directions”, but “performance tended to increase over time”; the second half mentions that “the researchers concluded that individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in other words, the researchers ruled out an explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to a decrease in the workday. Incorrect.

D is the best choice.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. Which of the following can be inferred to demonstrate the Hawthorne Effect as mentioned in the passage?

Difficulty Level:   600

Explanation

Mind-map

To introduce a set of experiments performed to relate level of lighting and productivity (First half)
To conclude that group pride improves work performance (Second half)

The second half mentions that the Hawthorne Effect suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”. Each answer choice needs to be carefully evaluated in light of the information presented in this context.

A. Trap.  The second half mentions that the Hawthorne Effect suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in the case of an individual from a large team of athletes setting up a world record soon after the team’s training, “setting up a world record” suggests “better performance”, but  there is no suggestion regarding “special attention received by a group” : so, it is incorrect to state that this scenario demonstrates the Hawthorne Effect. Incorrect.

B. Trap.  The second half mentions that the Hawthorne Effect suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in the case of a chess prodigy winning an international title after receiving mentorship from a team of leading coaches, “winning an international title” suggests good “performance”, but  there is no suggestion regarding “a group” of “performers”, and it is an individual who receives a “special” mentorship, not “a group  receiving special attention”; so, it is incorrect to state that this scenario demonstrates the Hawthorne Effect. Incorrect.

C.  The second half mentions that the Hawthorne Effect suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in the case of a group of college students working on a class assignment and ranking first among all groups in the class, there is a reference to a “group” and “ranking first” suggests good “performance”,  but there is no suggestion regarding “special attention” received by the group;  so, it is incorrect to state that this scenario demonstrates the Hawthorne Effect. Incorrect.

D.  The second half mentions that the Hawthorne Effect suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in the case of a group of filmmakers collaborating with one another to co-direct a large-budget movie, there is a reference to a “group”, but there is no suggestion regarding the group’s “performance” or “special attention” received by the group, so, it is incorrect to state that this scenario demonstrates the Hawthorne Effect. Incorrect.

E.  Correct.   The second half mentions that the Hawthorne Effect suggests that “individuals in a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in the case of  a crew of an airline improving customer service ratings after being featured in the airline's monthly magazine, "a crew” suggests "a group”, “being featured in the a group perform better if they believed that their group was paid special attention”; in the case of a crew of an airline improving customer service ratings after being featured in the airline's monthly magazine, "a crew” suggests "a group”, “being featured in the airline's monthly magazine” suggests “receiving special attention”, and “improvement in customer service ratings” suggests “better performance’;  so, this scenario demonstrates the Hawthorne Effect.

E is the best choice.

Gemmie · Answer

1. The passage suggests that the Hawthorne Effect may explain the observation based on which of the following, if true?
D. The control group and the test group received the same attention by researchers.

The Hawthorne Effect posits that increased attention and recognition can lead to improved performance. The passage states that the control group, despite no changes in lighting, also experienced increased productivity. This suggests that the mere fact of being part of a study (and presumably receiving some level of attention from researchers) was enough to influence their performance.

Therefore, if it were true that both the control and test groups received the same attention from researchers, it would further support the idea that the Hawthorne Effect was at play in both groups, explaining the unexpected increase in productivity in the control group.

2. According to the passage, the researchers ruled out an explanation for the increase in productivity of the test group due to each of the following EXCEPT 
 D. an increase in collective dignity

The passage explicitly states that the researchers concluded that the increase in productivity was due to a "complex chain of attitudes" including "group pride" and "sympathetic supervision." This collectively led to the concept of the Hawthorne Effect.
Therefore, while the researchers ruled out physical factors like changes in wages, lighting, rest periods, and workday length, they did  not  rule out the psychological factor of increased collective dignity (or group pride). In fact, this was the core of their findings.

3. Which of the following can be inferred to demonstrate the Hawthorne Effect as mentioned in the passage? 
 E. A crew of an airline improving customer service ratings after being featured in the airline's monthly magazine

The Hawthorne Effect is about increased performance due to the awareness of being observed or studied. In this case, being featured in the airline's monthly magazine can be seen as a form of recognition and observation, which could lead to the crew feeling more valued and motivated to improve their performance. This aligns with the core idea of the Hawthorne Effect.

The other options involve individual achievements or group dynamics that aren't directly tied to increased attention or observation as the primary factor for performance improvement.

A famous series of studies, known as the Hawthorne Studies, was the

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

A famous series of studies, known as the Hawthorne Studies, was the

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