First Known Use: 1962
Dictionary
Hawthorne effect
noun Haw·thorne effect \ˈhȯ-ˌthȯrn-\
Definition of HAWTHORNE EFFECT
: the stimulation to output or accomplishment that results from the mere fact of being under observation; also : such an increase in output or accomplishment
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Origin of HAWTHORNE EFFECT
from the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Co., Cicero, Illinois, where its existence was established by experiment
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