Hawthorne Effect

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to Hawthorne Effect: placebo effect, Hawthorne studies

Hawthorne Effect

The phenomenon in which subjects of study alter their behavior simply because they are being studied. The Hawthorne effect is important in marketing. For example, test audience members may unintentionally skew their responses one way or another simply because they know they are part of a test audience. The concept originated in 1950 when analysis of a study from the 1920s and 1930s saw that productivity in a factory improved during a study of employees and declined after the study's conclusion.

Mentioned in ?

Hawthorne Studies

References in periodicals archive ?

The Hawthorne effect may have risen to prominence because it had behind it "the power of a good story" But good stories do not good science make.

Null effect

The time spent in providing personalized feedback offered students the opportunity for more one-on-one interaction with faculty, something considered important according to the Hawthorne effect (Jones, 2007).

Rx for NCLEX-RN success: reflections on development of an effective preparation process for senior baccalaureate students

Notwithstanding the apparent incongruity, the Hawthorne effect has implications for managers who are trying to lead their employees in difficult times.

Trapped workers: nowhere to run? A growing number of unhappy employees are feeling trapped in their jobs. Can EAPs help managers keep them from bolting when job markets improve?

The casualties include Festinger's cognitive dissonance, Milgram's obedience to authority, Zimbardo's mock prison, Sherif's and Asch's conclusions about social influences on perception, the Hawthorne effect, Rosenthal's Pygmalion effect, and, more generally, the allegedly pernicious effects of pornography and TV violence.

Augustine Brannigan, The Rise and Fall of Social Psychology: The Use and Misuse of the Experimental Method

In case you don't know, the Hawthorne effect is the heightened morale and performance that occurs when people are the subject of someone else's attention.

The surprising power of placebos proves health is a state of mind

It could have been that (a) the self-instructions kept the golfers focused on what to do rather than on possible negative outcomes or other matters, (b) the self-instructions served to inform the golfers of new methods of putting and thus served primarily as quality instruction, or (c) the self-instructions, being part of a study, had a type of Hawthorne effect in making the golfers try harder.

Effects of self-instructions on sport performance

If you could sustain a Hawthorne effect for an indefinite period of time, you would be in good shape, but we can't seem to do it.

Handwashing antiseptics: the product selection challenge; Interview with Rita McCormick, RN, CIC, senior infection control practitioner, University of Wisconsin hospital & clinics authority

Most managers know about the Hawthorne Effect and have studied it in college or a management class.

Management fad of the month ... can they all work?

The term, Hawthorne effect came from this series of studies and is widely misunderstood in educational circles.