Observer Effect

By Deane Barker

The act of observing something causes it to behave differently than if it were operating anonymously.

Examples

Tourist sites will often play up their history or culture to an unrealistic degree, because it’s what tourists want to see. Tourists think they’re getting an “authentic” experience, when what their observer might never have actually existed.

In feminist theory, women are often depicted and act in ways that satisfy and engage male sexual and romantic desires, in an effort to appease patriarchal power structures. Without constant male evaluation, women would behave and act differently.

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