A closer look
Individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed, completely ruining the validity of many behavioral studies. Discovered during experiments at the Hawthorne Works factory in the 1920s, researchers found that workers became incredibly productive when the lighting was changed, but only because they knew managers with clipboards were watching their every move. This proves that human beings are fundamentally performative liars who cannot be trusted to act naturally the second they feel perceived. It is the exact same reason you suddenly start typing frantically and staring intently at a blank spreadsheet the moment your boss walks past your cubicle. Science has spent a century trying to understand human nature, completely ignoring the fact that we are all just exhausted actors putting on a desperate show for whoever happens to be making eye contact with us!
