Photo by Chase Clark via Unsplash
Those familiar with basic principles in physics are likely aware of the observer effect, the phenomenon by which simply observing subatomic particles affects the behavior of those particles. If even non-sentient subatomic particles act differently when they’re being observed, imagine what that means for creatures as social and self-aware as humans. The closest corresponding effect in people is called the Hawthorne effect, the phenomenon referring to the idea that people will change their behavior in response to discovering they are being observed.