Erin Harris presented results from her undergraduate research at the 2005 Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) conference in Montreal, Quebec. The UPA "supports those who promote and advance the development of usable products, reaching out to people who act as advocates for usability and the user experience." Erin's study examined aspects of usability testing to determine if the effects of social facilitation and electronic monitoring are present.

Typical usability testing includes the use of facilitators, observation rooms, and electronic monitoring. Because users are being observed during the testing process, software designers must consider the psychological effects of social facilitation on the results. Social facilitation theory states that a persons performance is affected when being observed. Erin's study examined three aspects of usability testing: 1) persistent knowledge of being observed, 2) presence of a facilitator, and 3) persistent knowledge of being videotaped. Four groups of subjects were run through a usability test, each group varying in the amount of direct observation and electronic monitoring. In each of the experimental groups significant statistical effects were found in the number of errors the users made. The results suggest ways usability testing should be conducted to minimize the effects of social facilitation.