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What is the Hawthorne effect?

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Quick answer

The Hawthorne effect is the tendency for people to change or improve their behavior simply because they know they're being observed. It's named after factory studies where workers became more productive whenever researchers were watching. People act differently when they know they're watched.

Key things to understand

  1. People act differently when they know they're watched.
  2. Observation alone can boost performance.
  3. It's named after 1920s–30s factory studies.
  4. It can distort research results if unaccounted for.

People also ask

What is the Hawthorne effect?
The tendency to change behavior, often improving, simply because one knows they are being observed.
Why does the Hawthorne effect matter?
It can skew studies, since being watched — not the change being tested — may cause the improvement.
Where does the name come from?
From productivity studies at the Hawthorne Works factory in the 1920s and 1930s.