Sunday, April 18, 2010

When I read this, I was reminded of Foucault’s Panopticon. This idea of the panopticon is exactly what was revealed form the Illumination Study. The study was concerned with the productivity of workers rather than the larger body the Panopticon tends to deal with, which includes prisons, hospitals, and schools. The relation of these ideas is outstanding, and I am lead to wonder weather or not Foucault was influenced by these findings.
Sadly, I do not know the answer to this question, but I do believe that both ideas have validity in our world. Both the studies of Psychology and Communications have concluded that this is a phenomenon that occurs in our society. I would suggest that it is completely accurate to say that the influence of someone, or something in some cases, observing your interactions or your backstage self creates an environment where you cannot be completely comfortable, and this is reflected in the way you behave. A few examples include security cameras in drugstores and a supervisor having access to your emails. In the first instance, the cameras you see behind the black bubbles on the ceiling of these establishments are meant to prevent people from stealing. They most often work, because being recorded, and thus being caught for your crime, is a fear many people wish to avoid. In my second example, if an employee is aware his/her supervisor has access to the privacy of emails, that person is likely to not say anything harmful about the company or send personal messages during work hours. Both these likelihoods are not as likely if an employee’s emails are not accessible to the employer.

However, in the age of reality television, this idea has shifted. Shows like The Real World and Big Brother have essentially thrown the idea of the Panopticon and the notion of the Hawthorne Effect out the window. Participants in these show, among many others, do not behave differently after becoming used to the idea of being taped. This behavior is partly the reason reality shows are so successful, we get to witness what most people would not allow the world to see. With this new age of media, it leads me to question how long the Hawthorne Effect will have a place in our society.

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