Hawthorne effect

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noun Psychology.

a positive change in the performance of a group of persons taking part in an experiment or study due to their perception of being singled out for special consideration.

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Origin of Hawthorne effect

First recorded in 1960–65; after the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company, Cicero, Ill., where such an effect was observed in experiments

Words nearby Hawthorne effect

hawser, hawser bend, hawser-laid, hawthorn, Hawthorne, Hawthorne effect, Hawthorne, Nathaniel, Hawthornesque, hay, Hayakawa, haybox

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Hawthorne effect in a sentence

In Israel, however, a new law took effect January 1st that banned the use of underweight models.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But they say its effect on the regular daily operation of organized crime has been negligible.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
All of these increased barriers then have a snowball effect.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So now the company is asking the FCC to, in effect, reverse itself.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A revised version of the law goes into effect on January 1st, 2015.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.
Children's Ways|James Sully
He shrank, as from some one who inflicted pain as a child, unwittingly, to see what the effect would be.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
And so this is why the clever performer cannot reproduce the effect of a speech of Demosthenes or Daniel Webster.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The well-known "cock and bull" stories of small children are inspired by this love of strong effect.
Children's Ways|James Sully
She stabbed him, noting the effect upon him with a detached interest that seemed indifferent to his pain.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood

British Dictionary definitions for Hawthorne effect

Hawthorne effect

/ (ˈhɔːˌθɔːn) /

noun

improvement in the performance of employees, students, etc, brought about by making changes in working methods, resulting from research into means of improving performanceCompare iatrogenic, placebo effect

Word Origin for Hawthorne effect

from the Western Electric Company's Hawthorne works in Chicago, USA, where it was discovered during experiments in the 1920s

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012