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Elton Mayo

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

George Elton Mayo was an Australian-born psychologist and organizational theorist who conducted the Hawthorne studies at Western Electric's plant in Cicero, Illinois, showing that worker productivity depends on social relationships and attention from management as much as on physical working conditions, and founding what became known as the human relations movement in industrial psychology. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Birth Date
1880-12-26 1
Birth Year
1880 1
Death Date
1949-09-07 1
Death Year
1949 1
Birthplace
Adelaide, Australia 1
Death Place
Guildford, Surrey, England 1
Nationality / Culture
Australian 1
Defining Contribution
Established that informal social patterns and group dynamics among workers significantly influence workplace productivity, founding the human relations movement in management theory. 1
Notable Work
The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization (1933) 1
Elton Mayo
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Connections

Associated With

His Hawthorne studies founded organizational consulting psychology's attention to worker behavior and morale.

Led the Hawthorne Works studies (1924-1932) at Harvard Business School that gave the effect its name.

In Branch

Studies Conducted

Source Wikipedia: Hawthorne Effect
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Elton Mayo
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Research section
    Mayo concluded that productivity partly depended on the informal social patterns of interaction in the work group.
  • In Branch: Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Introduction
    His field research in industry had a significant impact on industrial and organizational psychology.
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Wikipedia: Hawthorne Effect
Wikimedia FoundationStudies Conducted: Hawthorne Studies, Illumination experiment section
Quote, Studies Conducted: Hawthorne Studies, Illumination experiment section
When the intensity of light was increased in the experiment room, researchers found that productivity had improved in both rooms.
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