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
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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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
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