Hawthorne effect


nounPsychology.
  1. 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.

Origin of Hawthorne effect

1
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

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British Dictionary definitions for Hawthorne effect

Hawthorne effect

/ (ˈhɔːˌθɔːn) /


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

Origin of Hawthorne effect

1
from the Western Electric Company's Hawthorne works in Chicago, USA, where it was discovered during experiments in the 1920s

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