In the modern workplace, employees' behavioral performance, team collaboration efficiency, and organizational management effectiveness are often affected by a variety of psychological factors. Industrial and organizational psychology, as a discipline that studies the psychological and behavioral laws of people in the workplace, summarizes many classic psychological effects. These effects not only help managers understand the psychological logic behind employee behavior, but also provide a scientific basis for optimizing management strategies and improving team performance. This article will introduce in detail many famous effects in industrial and organizational psychology, covering their definition, background sources, core principles, experimental basis, realistic application and critical analysis, so as to help everyone fully grasp the psychological laws of the workplace.
Effects of workplace behavior and performance
Hawthorne effect
What is the Hawthorne effect?
The Hawthorne effect refers to the phenomenon that people deliberately change their behavior or performance levels when they realize they are being paid attention or observed. Simply put, it is to 'being paid attention to makes performance better.'
Background source
This effect originated from a series of experiments conducted by the American Western Electric Company at its Hawthorne plant in Illinois between 1924 and 1933. The initial purpose of the experiment was to study the impact of working conditions such as lighting and rest time on employee productivity, but unexpectedly found that the change in working conditions was not the core reason for the change in efficiency.
Core Principle
The core of the Hawthorne effect lies in the impact of 'social concern' on individual behavior. When employees feel that they are valued by managers or researchers, they will feel respected and recognized psychological satisfaction. This positive psychological state will stimulate their internal motivation and thus improve work enthusiasm and performance.
Experimental basis
During the experiment, the researchers first adjusted the lighting intensity and found that whether the lighting became brighter or darker, the efficiency of employees improved; later, the rest time, working hours, etc. were changed, and the efficiency still increased. In the end, psychologist Mayo concluded that what really affects efficiency is that employees realize that they are the subject of research, feel the attention and attention, and thus work harder.
Realistic application
In management, managers can activate the Hawthorne effect by regularly communicating with employees, paying attention to employees' work status, and giving timely feedback. For example, holding employee symposiums and conducting one-on-one performance interviews to make employees feel valued and thus increase work commitment.
Critical Analysis
Although the Hawthorne effect can improve performance in the short term, the effect may be timely. If there is no substantial incentive or support based solely on 'focus', employees may lose motivation due to unmet expectations in the long run. In addition, excessive attention may also cause pressure on some employees, which will affect their true performance.
Leadership Pygmalion
What is the Pygmalion leadership effect?
The Pygmalion leadership effect refers to the manager's expectations of subordinates that will affect the behavior and performance of subordinates. The manager's positive expectations will prompt subordinates to perform better, while negative expectations may lead to subordinates’ poor performance.
Background source
The effect name stems from the ancient Greek mythology of Pygmalion - a sculptor fell in love with the statue he carved, and eventually the statue became a real person due to his affectionate expectations. In 1968, psychologists Rosenthal and Jacobson discovered the 'expectation effect' in the field of education, which was later extended to workplace management, forming the Pygmalion leadership effect.
Core Principle
The core principle is 'self-fulfilling prophecy'. When managers have high expectations for employees, they will unconsciously send positive signals to employees through language, attitude, behavior, etc. After receiving these signals, employees will adjust their self-awareness and make more efforts to meet expectations and ultimately achieve performance improvement.
Experimental basis
Rosenthal once conducted experiments in elementary school, randomly selecting some students to tell teachers that these students have 'potential'. After a period of time, the grades of these marked students have indeed improved significantly. This experiment demonstrated the strong influence of expectation on individual performance, and this principle was later applied to the workplace leadership scenario.
Realistic application
Managers should actively express positive expectations for employees, such as clearly informing them 'I believe you can complete this project' and provide support and encouragement in their work. At the same time, by setting reasonable high goals and recognizing employees' efforts, we will strengthen employees' self-confidence and stimulate their potential.
Critical Analysis
Positive expectations are not omnipotent. If expectations are too high and exceed employees' actual abilities, it may lead to employees' anxiety and frustration. In addition, the transmission of expectations requires managers to be consistent in their words and deeds, and only express expectations verbally without actual support, which will greatly reduce the effect.
Goal-setting effect
What is set expectations-performance effects?
Setting expectations - Performance effects refer to clear, specific and challenging goals that can improve individual work performance more effectively than vague or without goals. Simply put, 'clear goals make people feel more directional and perform better.'
Background source
The effect was proposed by psychologist Locke in the 1960s. Through a large number of experiments, Locke found that there is a close relationship between goal setting and performance, and proposed the goal setting theory, which has become an important theory on motivation in industrial and organizational psychology.
Core Principle
The core principle includes four aspects: First, clear goals can guide attention and direction of effort and avoid waste of resources; Second, challenging goals can stimulate individual potential and degree of effort; Third, goals can enhance individual perseverance and encourage individuals to overcome difficulties; Fourth, goals can encourage individuals to formulate implementation strategies and improve action efficiency.
Experimental basis
Locke had conducted experiments with lumberjacks, one group was asked to 'cut wood with the best efforts' and the other group was set to target 'cut 60 cubic meters per day.' The results showed that the logging volume of the group setting specific targets was significantly higher than that of the group without clear targets. A large number of subsequent experiments have verified the role of clear and challenging goals in improving performance.
Realistic application
In enterprise management, the 'SMART principle' can be used to set goals, that is, the goals should be specific, measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, changing 'increase sales' to 'increase sales by 15% this quarter, adding 5 new customers every month' to let employees clarify their direction of efforts.
Critical Analysis
The harder the goal setting, the better. If the goal is too difficult and cannot be achieved, it will damage employees' enthusiasm. In addition, overemphasizing target results may ignore learning and growth in the process, and may even lead to quick success and instant benefits. At the same time, the target should be flexible to avoid the failure of the target due to environmental changes.
Overjustification in workplace
What is the over-stimulus inhibition effect?
The over-motivation inhibition effect refers to the phenomenon that when external incentives (such as money, rewards) are excessive, it will weaken the individual's original internal motivation, lead to a decrease in the individual's interest in the task itself, and instead affect long-term performance.
Background source
This effect originated from the 'overrational rationalization theory' in psychology, proposed by Desi et al. in the 1970s. Desi discovered through experiments that the impact of external rewards on intrinsic motivation is not always positive, and excessive rewards will undermine individual interest in the activity itself.
Core Principle
When an individual participates in a task due to an internal interest, if too much external motivation is introduced at this time, the individual will change his behavioral motivation from 'living to do this' to 'doing it to get a reward.' Once the external reward decreases or disappears, the individual may lose the motivation to continue the task, because the internal motivation has been 'replaced' or 'suppressed' by external motivation.
Experimental basis
In Desi's experiment, two groups of subjects were asked to solve interesting puzzles. One group will be rewarded with a monetary reward, while the other group will not be rewarded. During the subsequent free activity period, the reward group is more willing to continue to solve puzzles (due to inner interests), while the reward group's willingness to continue to solve problems is significantly reduced. This suggests that excessive rewards inhibit intrinsic motivation.
Realistic application
External incentives and internal incentives should be balanced in management. For work that is interesting and can bring a sense of accomplishment, reduce unnecessary material rewards and give more internal incentives such as recognition and autonomy; for boring work, external incentives can be used appropriately, but avoid excessive, and at the same time, focus on cultivating employees' awareness of the meaning of work.
Critical Analysis
Not all external motivations suppress intrinsic motivation, and moderate, non-controlled rewards (such as competency-based recognition) may enhance motivation. In addition, the strength of the effect is also related to individual differences, and moderate external motivation may be more effective for people with weak intrinsic motivation.
Related effects of recruitment and evaluation
Contrast effect
What is the contrast effect?
The contrast effect refers to when evaluating things, people will unconsciously compare them with the things they have been in contact with before, thereby affecting their judgment of the current things. In recruitment or performance evaluation, it is that 'the object you contact first affects the evaluation of the next object.'
Background source
The contrast effect is a classic phenomenon in psychology and is widely present in the fields of perception and judgment. In industrial and organizational psychology, it is often used to explain bias issues in recruitment interviews and employee assessments.
Core Principle
People have limited cognitive resources and rely on the reference system when evaluating. When you come into contact with two similar things in succession, if the previous thing performs poorly, the latter one may be overestimated even if it is medium; if the previous one performs well, the latter one may be underestimated even if it is better. This reference comparison will distort the judgment of the true value of things.
Experimental basis
Psychologists have conducted a recruitment simulation experiment: asked the interviewer to first interview a few candidates with poor performance and then an average candidate. The interviewer's rating for the intermediate candidate is obviously higher; if the excellent candidate first and then the same candidate for the same secondary candidate, the rating will be significantly lower. Experiments verified the impact of contrast effects on evaluation and judgment.
Realistic application
During recruitment, interviewers should avoid candidates with too many differences in continuous interviews. Structured interviews can be adopted, unified evaluation standards can be formulated, and scores can be recorded in a timely manner after each interview to reduce interference from before and after comparison. In performance evaluation, mandatory distribution method or comparison with fixed standards can be used instead of only comparison with colleagues.
Critical Analysis
Although the contrast effect will lead to evaluation deviation, rational use can produce positive effects. For example, in negotiations, first putting forward higher requirements as reference and then putting forward real requirements may make the other party more acceptable. However, attention should be paid to reduce its negative impact in formal evaluation and ensure fair evaluation.
Primacy in interviews
What is the primary interview effect?
The primary interview effect means that during the interview process, the interviewer's first impression of the candidate (usually formed within a few minutes of the interview) will have a dominant impact on the entire interview evaluation, and it is difficult to change the initial judgment afterwards.
Background source
The primacy effect was proposed by psychologist Ah Xi. Through experiments, he found that people's impression of others had 'preconceived' characteristics. In the recruitment interview scenario, this effect is manifested as the strong influence of the first impression on the final evaluation.
Core Principle
In order to process information quickly, the human brain will form a preliminary impression ('anchored point') in the early stages of contact with new things, and will tend to find information that supports this impression, ignore or downplay contradictory information, that is, 'confirmatory bias.' During the interview, early information such as the candidate's clothing, words and deeds, opening performances, etc. will form a first impression and will lead the interviewer's judgment.
Experimental basis
In Ah Xi's experiment, the same person was described to two groups of subjects. One group first saw positive words such as 'smart and diligent' and then negative words such as 'impulsive and stubborn'; the other group was the opposite. The results show that the group with positive vocabulary first evaluated this person more positively, verifying the existence of the primacy effect. Experiments in the interview also showed that impressions in the first 5 minutes can affect more than 70% of the final score.
Realistic application
Interviewers should receive professional training to be aware of the existence of the primacy effect and avoid drawing conclusions too early. A structured interview process can be adopted, questions can be asked in a fixed order, and candidate information can be collected before comprehensive evaluation. Candidates can also pay attention to their performance at the beginning of the interview and leave a good first impression, but they need to pay attention to showing themselves truly.
Critical Analysis
The primacy effect may cause excellent candidates to be underestimated because of a tight start, or ordinary candidates to be overestimated because of a good first impression, affecting recruitment fairness. But the first impression is not completely unreliable. It can reflect the candidate's communication skills, appearance literacy, etc. The key is to make comprehensive judgments based on subsequent information.
Similarity-attraction in hiring
What is the similarity-attractive effect?
Similarity-attractive effect means that during the recruitment process, interviewers prefer to recruit candidates who are similar to their values, interests, backgrounds, etc., and believe that similar people are easier to get along with and cooperate with.
Background source
This effect stems from the “similarity attraction theory” in social psychology, where people usually have a better impression of people who are similar to themselves. In industrial and organizational psychology, it is used to explain the problem of 'preference bias' in recruitment decisions.
Core Principle
People tend to psychologically identify with people who are similar to themselves, because similar characteristics will bring about a sense of security and familiarity, reducing the expectations of communication costs and conflict risks. When recruiting, interviewers will subconsciously look for candidates who are similar to themselves, and use 'similarity' as the hidden criteria for evaluation, even exceeding the attention to job matching.
Experimental basis
Psychologists once asked the interviewer to evaluate the candidate's resume, and some of the resumes included similar hobbies, alma mater, and other similar information as those of the interviewer. The results showed that candidates with similar information received significantly higher ratings, and interviewers were more inclined to recommend them to join. Experiments demonstrate the impact of similarity on recruitment decisions.
Realistic application
Enterprises should establish diversified recruitment teams to avoid the similarity preference of a single interviewer leading decision-making; formulate clear job competency standards, take 'job matching' as the core evaluation indicator, and reduce interference in subjective similarity judgments. Interviewers need to be self-aware and reflect on whether the evaluation is affected by similarity.
Critical Analysis
Similarity-attractive effect may lead to homogeneity of teams, lack of different perspectives and thinking, and affect innovation capabilities. But modest similarity (such as consistent values) can facilitate teamwork. The key is to balance similarity and diversity and recruit based on job needs.
Work design-related effects
Job characteristics model effects
What is the core dimension effect of the working feature model?
The core dimension effect of the work feature model refers to the five core characteristics of the work itself (skill diversity, task integrity, task importance, autonomy, and feedback) that will affect the employees' psychological state (such as sense of meaning, responsibility, and sense of accomplishment), and thus affect work performance, satisfaction and turnover rate.
Background source
The model was proposed by psychologists Hackman and Oldham in 1976 and aims to improve employee motivation and work effectiveness by optimizing work design. It is a classic theory in the field of work design.
Core Principle
The five core dimensions of the work feature model are: skill diversity (the type of skills required to complete the work), task integrity (the degree to which the complete work process can be completed), task importance (the impact of work on others or organization), autonomy (the degree of independent decision-making at work), and feedback (whether the information feedback on work results is timely and clear). These five dimensions ultimately affect individual and work results through three psychological states: 'the sense of meaning experienced', 'the sense of responsibility experienced', and 'understanding of results'.
Experimental basis
Through surveys of employees in multiple industries, Hackman and Oldham found that when the work has high skills diversity, task integrity and importance, employees are more likely to feel the meaning of work; high autonomy can enhance employees' sense of responsibility; and strong feedback work allows employees to understand the results, thereby improving performance and satisfaction. On the contrary, jobs that lack these dimensions can easily lead to employee burnout and low performance.
Realistic application
Enterprises can activate this effect by optimizing work design, such as allowing employees to participate in a complete project process (improving task integrity), giving employees certain decision-making authority (increasing autonomy), and timely feedback on work results (increasing feedback). For example, let customer service personnel not only answer calls, but also participate in problem solving and customer maintenance to enhance the sense of meaning of work.
Critical Analysis
The job feature model is not suitable for everyone, and excessive autonomy or skill requirements can be stressful for employees who pursue stability and low challenges. In addition, model implementation requires organizational support, such as training and resource guarantee, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve results by simply changing the work design.
Organizational phenomenon-related effects
Parkinson's law
What is Parkinson's Law?
Parkinson's Law states that in administrative management, administrative agencies will continue to increase like a pyramid, and personnel will continue to expand. Everyone is busy, but the organizational efficiency is getting lower and lower. Simply put, “work will expand to fill all available time” or “the organization becomes bigger and less efficient”.
Background source
The law was proposed by British historian Parkinson in 1955, originated from his observations and research on the bloated phenomenon of British government institutions, and was later widely used to explain the efficiency issues in organizational management.
Core Principle
The core principle includes two aspects: one is the law of the growth of the number of officials, that is, when an official A feels that his work is too busy, he will increase subordinates B and C, rather than find someone with strong ability to replace him. A's work will be distributed to B and C. Soon B and C will feel busy and then add subordinates, resulting in personnel expansion; the other is the law of work expansion, that is, the work will automatically adapt to the time to complete it, and use as much time as you give, resulting in inefficiency.
Experimental basis
Parkinson analyzed data from the British Admiralty and found that from 1914 to 1928, the number of British naval ships decreased by 32%, and the number of naval officers and soldiers decreased by 67%, but the number of officials in the Admiralty increased by 78%, while the efficiency of the agency decreased. This phenomenon verifies the relationship between personnel expansion and reduced efficiency proposed by him.
Realistic application
In enterprise management, the organizational structure should be streamlined, job responsibilities should be clarified, and multiple people should be clarified in one position or overlapping responsibilities should be avoided; a clear work deadline should be set to avoid unlimited expansion of work; flat management should be adopted to reduce management levels and improve decision-making efficiency. For example, implementing 'target management' to allow employees to clarify tasks and time limits and reduce ineffective busyness.
Critical Analysis
Parkinson's Law is mainly applicable to organizations with too many levels and unclear rights and responsibilities, and is weak in flat and market-oriented flexible organizations. Moderate personnel growth may improve efficiency due to the refinement of division of labor, but excessive inflation will lead to problems. The key is to balance the size of personnel and the responsibilities.
Mushroom effect
What is the mushroom effect?
The mushroom effect refers to newcomers who are just starting to enter the workplace or employees at the bottom of the organization who are often placed in dark corners like mushrooms (not valued), accepting all kinds of unreasonable accusations and criticisms, and even being poured on 'dirty manure' (under unnecessary pressure), and fend for themselves in an environment without attention and support.
Background source
This effect originates from the description of common phenomena in the workplace, vividly comparing the difficulties faced by newcomers in the early stages of growth. Its core reflects the neglect of grassroots employees or newcomers and other issues in the organization, and the transmission of stress.
Core Principle
There are hierarchical differences and uneven resource allocation in the organization, and upper-level managers may focus more on core business or senior employees, and ignore the growth needs of newcomers. At the same time, there may be a phenomenon of 'pressure transmission downward', and the pressure from the upper level is transferred to grassroots employees. Due to lack of experience and voice, newcomers are prone to bearers of blame and pressure, and they are struggling to grow in a lack of guidance and support.
Realistic application
Enterprises should establish a newcomer training system to designate tutors for newcomers, provide clear work guidance and feedback to avoid letting newcomers explore in confusion. Managers should pay attention to the work status of grassroots employees, reasonably allocate pressure, give affirmation and support, and create a positive growth environment. Newcomers can also actively communicate and seek help to avoid passively under pressure.
Critical Analysis
A moderate 'mushroom experience' may exercise newcomers' ability to withstand stress and solve problems independently, but excessive neglect and pressure will hit their enthusiasm and lead to talent loss. Organizations should distinguish necessary growth challenges from unreasonable pressures and avoid using the 'mushroom effect' to make excuses for ignoring employee needs.
Caterpillar effect
What is the caterpillar effect?
The caterpillar effect refers to people habitually following the routes or inherent patterns of their predecessors, lacking innovative thinking, and blindly persisting even if the path is no longer effective, which ultimately leads to failure or inefficiency.
Background source
The effect originated from the experiment of French entomologist Fabre: He connected the caterpillars head and tail into a circle, and placed their favorite food outside the circle. The caterpillars kept following the caterpillars in front of them and eventually died of hunger and fatigue, but no caterpillars deviated from the route to find food.
Core Principle
The core of the caterpillar effect is 'mind-setting' and 'path dependence'. People will form fixed behavioral patterns and thinking habits in their long-term work, rely on past experiences and methods, and lack the perception of environmental changes and exploration of new methods. When the external environment changes and the original path is no longer applicable, blindly persisting, resulting in the inability to adapt to the new situation and missing opportunities.
Experimental basis
Fabre's caterpillar experiment directly demonstrates the consequences of blind follow-up. In the management experiment, two groups of employees were asked to solve the problem, one group was told to 'do it according to the previous successful method', and the other group encouraged 'trying new methods'. The results show that groups that encourage innovation are easier to find solutions when environmental changes, while groups that rely on old methods are inefficient.
Realistic application
In corporate management, employees should be encouraged to break the mindset, regularly reflect on the effectiveness of existing working methods, organize innovative training or brainstorming activities, and inspire new ideas. In strategic planning, avoid blindly following industry practices and explore new paths based on your own situation. For example, traditional enterprises can actively embrace digital transformation rather than stick to the old business model.
Critical Analysis
Not all experiences and traditions should be denied, and reasonable path dependence can reduce trial and error costs. The key is to distinguish between 'effective experience' and 'outdated models', maintain an innovative consciousness on the basis of respecting laws, and neither blindly follow the trend nor follow the old.
Kick-the-cat
What is the kicking effect?
The kick-kick effect refers to the negative emotions being transmitted in sequence along the social relationship chain, transmitted by people with high status to people with low status, and ultimately being borne by the weakest group or individual. Just like the boss criticizes employees, employees go home and scold children, and children kick cats, and cats have nowhere to vent their vent.
Background source
This effect is a classic phenomenon about emotional transmission in psychology, vividly describing the transmission path of negative emotions in organizations or society, reflecting the importance of emotional management to interpersonal relationships and organizational atmosphere.
Core Principle
People’s negative emotions need to be vented, but they often choose to vent to objects that are weaker or unable to resist, because such catharsis costs are the lowest. In an organization, the higher the power the person holds, the easier it is to pass on negative emotions at work to subordinates, and subordinates pass on them to lower levels, forming an emotional transmission chain, which ultimately affects the entire organizational atmosphere.
Experimental basis
Psychological research has found that when an individual encounters setbacks or negative events, aggression and negative emotions increase and he is more inclined to show hostility toward the weak. In the experiment that simulates organizational scenarios, managers are asked to accept criticism first (generate negative emotions) and then interact with subordinates. After subordinates receive negative emotions, their attitude towards more grassroots employees has significantly worsened, verifying the hierarchical transmission of negative emotions.
Realistic application
Enterprises should pay attention to emotional management training to help employees, especially managers, learn to vent negative emotions reasonably, such as through exercise, confiding, meditation, etc. rather than venting to subordinates. Establish a positive organizational culture, encourage open communication, and reduce emotional depression and transmission between levels. Managers should set an example, control their emotions, and avoid becoming the starting point for negative emotions.
Critical Analysis
The kick-cat effect reveals the destructiveness of emotional transmission, but modest emotional expression is not a bad thing. The key is to distinguish between 'reasonable emotional communication' and 'unreasonable emotional venting', allowing employees to express their emotions, but guiding them to deal with it in a constructive way rather than hurting others. At the same time, organizations should pay attention to the emotional state of employees in high-stress positions and provide necessary support.
Ending
These famous effects in industry and organizational psychology profoundly reveal the psychological laws of individual behavior, team interaction, and organizational management in the workplace. From the attention motivation of the Hawthorne effect to emotional management of the kick cat effect, from the expected power of the Pygmalion effect to the innovative warning of the caterpillar effect, they provide scientific guidance for managers to optimize management strategies and improve team effectiveness, and also provide psychological basis for employees to understand their own behavior and achieve professional growth.
In the actual workplace, we should flexibly use these effects, not only use their positive effects to improve performance and satisfaction, but also be wary of the deviations and limitations it may bring. Through scientific understanding and rational application of psychological effects, we can create a fairer, more efficient and positive workplace environment and achieve common growth between individuals and organizations. I hope this article can help you fully master the effects of industrial and organizational psychology and help workplace development to a higher level.
Continue to pay attention to the series of articles in 'Complete Psychological Effects' and explore more secret weapons of psychology in depth.
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