Last weekend I was up on the Kennebec River at Harris Station where put-in was in progress for both private boaters and several commercial trips. Also in progress was the shooting of some video. A film crew was there from Animal Planet, or so we were told, shooting content for a show or shows about the DIFW fish cops to be called something like North Woods Law, so we were told. Now I've been to put-in more than a few times and the standard drill is to have a bunch of private boaters wandering around trying to figure out how to get their boats in the water (hint, it is at the bottom of that long set of steps), and commercial raft guides prepping their boats, instructing their crews and herding both towards the top of the stairs. On most weekends there is a fish cop (DIFW ranger) present to ensure the commercial trips give way to the private boaters, launch according to schedule and don't exceed their allocation. They are not there to be helpful and spend most of their time scowling officiously at all and sundry.
Enter Animal Planet, the chance for fifteen minutes of fame and, as a result, the Hawthorne Effect. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it the Hawthorne Effect is (in a nutshell) an effect on participant behaviour caused by the very fact of observation. In other words, the mere fact of observation alters the behaviour being observed. Last weekend was a good example of that. The fish cops (more than usual were present) were drawn to the site by the presence of the cameras, just like some big ol' Hockmeyer bass drawn out of the depths of Indian Pond by a shiny lure. Then, once in the presence of cameras, they began to behave entirely out of character. They lost their scowly aspect and actually pitched in with the work at hand, grabbing hold of rafts to very kindly assist with the launch -- and to confuse things in the process.
The raft guides were as puzzled by this as they might have been had Mount Katahdin suddenly appeared where the Bigelows should be standing. It was unprecedented. It was was confusing. It was annoying beyond belief.
Sotto voce comments were heard off camera
"What the f--k are they up to." &
"Let go of my frickin' boat."
The rangers, oblivious to all but the cameras, persisted.
This change in behaviour can only be explained by the Hawthorne Effect. The fish cops, wishing to appear on camera as personable, helpful and public spirited, were behaving in a manner entirely out of character and without known precedent.
It won't last of course. As soon as those cameras are gone they will pull that Hawthorne out of their paws and revert to type.
