Hawthorne-Mayo Experiment. At a General Electric factory in Hawthorne, California, an experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of electric light (versus the dim light of kerosene lamps) on industrial productivity. At the end of the experiment, it seemed clear that electric light did indeed increase productivity. But then sociologist Elton Mayo, who conducted the experiment, decided to conduct a counterexperiment with kerosene lamps. He concluded that workers produced more efficiently when subjected to the experiment, regardless of the light. This was called the “Hawthorne-Mayo Effect.”
