John Henry effect

an effect in which rivalry between a control group and an experimental group leads to competitive efforts that disturb the whole basis of the experiment. It is a particular danger in industrial psychology experiments that attempt to compare the outputs of groups working under different task conditions. The term derives from the legend of John Henry, a railroad steel driver who worked himself to death with a steam drill.

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Psychology term of the day

January 21st 2025

reciprocal relationship

1. a correlation between two variables such that the value of one variable is the reciprocal of the value of the other. For example, if a researcher is studying the average time taken to complete a task, then tasks completed per unit time (e.g., 2 per hour) have a reciprocal relationship with unit time taken per task (0.5 hours).

2. the situation in which two variables can mutually influence one another; that is, each can be both a cause and an effect.