The fact that people who knew they were taking part in the study performed better may have been due to the psychological phenomenon known as the Hawthorne effect.
Financial and business terms. 2012.
Hawthorne effect — The Hawthorne effect is a form of reactivity whereby subjects improve or modify an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they know they are being studied,[1][2] not in response to any… … Wikipedia
Hawthorne effect — ☆ Hawthorne effect n. [after the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Co. in Cicero, Ill., where studies of worker performance were made in 1927] improvement in performance, as by workers or students, resulting from mere awareness that… … English World dictionary
hawthorne effect — ˈhȯˌthȯrn , ˌthȯ(ə)n noun Usage: usually capitalized H Etymology: from the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Co., Cicero, Ill., where the effect s existence was established by experiment : the stimulation to increase output or… … Useful english dictionary
hawthorne effect — Study which found that any changes in working conditions improved productivity. ► “Hawthorne effect refers to the findings of a 1924 study that measured the correlation between specific working conditions and output. It showed that productivity … American business jargon
Hawthorne effect — Psychol. 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. [1960 65; after the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company … Universalium
Hawthorne effect — noun Etymology: from the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Co., Cicero, Ill., where its existence was established by experiment Date: 1962 the stimulation to output or accomplishment that results from the mere fact of being under… … New Collegiate Dictionary
Hawthorne effect — /ˈhɔθɔn əfɛkt/ (say hawthawn uhfekt) noun the theoretical phenomenon of increase in worker productivity being less greatly promoted by changes to individual working environments, office procedures, etc., than by greater degrees of communication… …
Hawthorne effect — noun An effect on a study due to a change, due to being observed, in the behavior of a subject being studied … Wiktionary
Hawthorne Works — The Hawthorne Works, in Cicero, Illinois, was a large factory complex built by Western Electric starting in 1905 and operating until 1983. It had 45,000 employees at the height of its operations. Besides telephone equipment, the factory produced… … Wikipedia
effect — ▪ I. effect ef‧fect 1 [ɪˈfekt] noun 1. [countable, uncountable] the way in which an action, event, or person changes someone or something: • Inflation is having a disastrous effect on the economy. demonˈstration efˌfect [singular] … Financial and business terms
