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The Hawthorne effect: A reconsideration of the methodological artifact.

Adair, John G.·1984·Journal of Applied Psychology

DOI 10.1037/0021-9010.69.2.334

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Abstract

Reviews the literature on the Hawthorne effect (HE) which originated out of the studies at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company. This effect is generally defined as the problem in field experiments that Ss' knowledge that they are in an experiment modifies their behavior from what it would have been without the knowledge. An examination of the Hawthorne studies conducted 50 yrs ago does not reveal this “effect” probably because there were so many uncontrolled variables. HE is inconsistently described in contemporary psychology textbooks, and there is lack of agreement on how the effect is mediated. Controls for the HE in current field research (mostly in education) took several forms, each designed for different purposes. In 13 studies designed to produce HEs, only 4 using adult Ss were successful. It is suggested that most persons in any clearly identified situation define the context for their behavior and respond accordingly; the necessity to ascertain Ss' view of the experiment requires different procedures than those typically used to control for HEs in the past. It is concluded that better articulation of how to adapt postexperimental questioning procedures to a diversity of experimental settings is needed. (68 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

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Method
(Smart)Watch Out! encouraging privacy-protective behavior through interactive games
Williams, M., Nurse, J. R. C., & Creese, S. (2019) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.07.012 · Cited by 31
“Since privacy was disguised in the surveys, this further mitigated the Hawthorne Effect (Adair, 1984).”
Background
Computer‐based intraoral image analysis of the clinical plaque removing capacity of 3 manual toothbrushes
Staudt, C. B., Kinzel, S., Haßfeld, S., Stein, W., Staehle, H. J., & Dörfer, C. E. (2001) · Journal Of Clinical Periodontology · doi:10.1034/j.1600-051x.2001.280805.x · Cited by 31
Nurse-led central venous catheter insertion—Procedural characteristics and outcomes of three intensive care based catheter placement services
Alexandrou, E., Murgo, M., Calabria, E., Spencer, T. R., Carpen, H., Brennan, K. J., Frost, S. A., Davidson, P. M., & Hillman, K. (2011) · International Journal of Nursing Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2011.08.011 · Cited by 31
Web browsing behavior analysis and interactive hypervideo
Leiva, L. A., & Vivó, R. (2013) · ACM Transactions on the Web · doi:10.1145/2529995.2529996 · Cited by 30
Being metric-wise: Heterogeneity in bibliometric knowledge
Rousseau, S., & Rousseau, R. (2017) · El Profesional de la Informacion · doi:10.3145/epi.2017.may.14 · Cited by 30
Lessons from Ideation: Where Does User Involvement Lead Us?
Schweitzer, F. M., Gassmann, O., & Rau, C. (2014) · Creativity and Innovation Management · doi:10.1111/caim.12058 · Cited by 29
Holistic Analysis of the Classroom
Raca, M., & Dillenbourg, P. (2014) · doi:10.1145/2666633.2666636 · Cited by 29
“Even though the teachers did not express dissatisfaction with the conduct (the filling out of the questionnaire lasted less than 4 minutes), we were concerned that our interruptions of the class could be changing students’ perceptions of the lesson[1].”
Background
Face-to-Face and Online Networks: College Students’ Experiences in a Weight-Loss Trial
Merchant, G., Weibel, N., Pina, L. R., Griswold, W. G., Fowler, J. H., Ayala, G. X., Gallo, L. C., Hollan, J. D., & Patrick, K. (2017) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730.2016.1250847 · Cited by 29
“Furthermore, individuals talked about how having measurement visits every 6 months made them feel accountable to lose weight, which could be interpreted as observation bias (Adair, 1984) as opposed to social accountability.”
Background
Reach and effectiveness of a computer-based alcohol intervention in a Swedish emergency room
Trinks, A., Festin, K., Bendtsen, P., & Nilsén, P. (2009) · International Emergency Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.ienj.2009.08.004 · Cited by 29
The ACCOMPLISH study. A cluster randomised trial on the cost-effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention to improve hand hygiene compliance and reduce healthcare associated infections
Erasmus, V., Huis, A. M. P., Oenema, A., van Empelen, P., Boog, M. C., van Beeck, E. H., Polinder, S., Steyerberg, E. W., Richardus, J. H., Vos, M. D., et al. (2011) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-721 · Cited by 30
“Although some HCW may be aware of the true nature of the study, most will revert to their routine quickly, reducing the Hawthorne effect [24].”
Background
How can neuroscience contribute to moral philosophy, psychology and education based on Aristotelian virtue ethics?
Han, H. (2016) · International Journal of Ethics Education · doi:10.1007/s40889-016-0016-9 · Cited by 31
The effect of a workstation chair and computer screen height adjustment on neck and upper back musculoskeletal pain and sitting comfort in office workers
Vledder, N. V., & Louw, Q. A. (2015) · South African Journal of Physiotherapy · doi:10.4102/sajp.v71i1.279 · Cited by 32
“Furthermore, the subject may have altered her behaviour because she was being observed as described by the Hawthorne effect (Adair 1984).”
Background
Reactivity in Rapidly Collected Hygiene and Toilet Spot Check Measurements: A Cautionary Note for Longitudinal Studies
Arnold, B. F., Khush, R. S., Ramaswamy, P., Rajkumar, P., Natesan, D., Ramaprabha, P., Balakrishnan, K., & Colford, J. M. (2014) · American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.14-0306 · Cited by 30
How surveys, tutors, and software help to assess Scrum adoption in a classroom software engineering project
Matthies, C., Kowark, T., Richly, K., Uflacker, M., & Plattner, H. (2016) · ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering: Companion Proceedings (ICSE-Companion) · doi:10.1145/2889160.2889182 · Cited by 28
“However, supporting teams with tutors is costly in terms of time and placing a member of the teaching staﬀ into meetings can inﬂuence students’ behavior [1].”
Background
Effect of brief gaming abstinence on withdrawal in adolescent at-risk daily gamers: A randomized controlled study
Evans, C., King, D. L., & Delfabbro, P. (2018) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.06.024 · Cited by 28
Understanding the Hawthorne effect in wound research—A scoping review
Nguyen, V. N. B., Miller, C., Sunderland, J., & McGuiness, W. (2018) · International Wound Journal · doi:10.1111/iwj.12968 · Cited by 29
“These measurements were conducted in various studies using multi-group design, single group design, and other procedures.(5,9) Adair et al(9)”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Valuing Personal Data with Privacy Consideration
Li, X., Liu, X., & Motiwalla, L. (2020) · Decision Sciences · doi:10.1111/deci.12442 · Cited by 28
“Due to the Hawthorne effect (Adair, 1984; McCambridge, Witton, & Elbourne, 2014), the bid price might not reflect well the actual trade-off between privacy and monetary incentive in a real-life setting.”
Background
A critical review of women's sleep–wake patterns in the context of neo-/adjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer
Kotronoulas, G., Wengström, Y., & Kearney, N. (2011) · The Breast · doi:10.1016/j.breast.2011.12.004 · Cited by 28
Drug administration via enteral feeding tubes in residential care facilities for individuals with intellectual disability: an observational study
Joos, E., Mehuys, E., Bocxlaer, J. V., Remon, J. P., Winckel, M. V., & Boussery, K. (2014) · Journal of Intellectual Disability Research · doi:10.1111/jir.12129 · Cited by 28
“Another limitation is the concern about the unexpected and unexplained reactivity to the observations of the staff members who are aware of their participation in a study, also known as the Hawthorne effect (Adair 1984).”
The lived experience of Sjögren’s Syndrome
Ngo, D. Y. J., Thomson, W. M., Nolan, A., & Ferguson, S. (2016) · BMC Oral Health · doi:10.1186/s12903-016-0165-4 · Cited by 28
“This phenomenon has been described as the “Hawthorne effect”, referring to the tendency of participants to modify their behavior because of their awareness of being under study [45].”
Background
Zarządzanie, organizacje i organizowanie – przegląd perspektyw teoretycznych
Klincewicz, K. (2016) · doi:10.7172/978-83-65402-29-5.2016.wwz.9 · Cited by 29
Breaking Barriers or Building Dependency? Exploring Team-LLM Collaboration in AI-infused Classroom Debate
Zhang, Z., Sun, B., & An, P. (2025) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3706598.3713853 · Cited by 41
“However, we cannot rule out the potential influence of the Hawthorne effect [1], a common challenge in observational research.”
Vitamin E effects on nasal symptoms and serum specific IgE levels in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis
Velázquez, B. B. M., Jáuregui‐Renaud, K., Arias, A. D. C. B., Ayala, J. C., Mogica-Martínez, M. D., Navarrete, R. C., Rosalia, I. S. V., Salazar, M. D. R. C., Serrano, H. A. C., Ocaña‐Mondragón, A., et al. (2006) · Annals of Allergy Asthma & Immunology · doi:10.1016/s1081-1206(10)61039-3 · Cited by 27
Evidence for sample selection effect and Hawthorne effect in behavioural HIV prevention trial among young women in a rural South African community
Rosenberg, M. S., Pettifor, A. E., Twine, R., Hughes, J. P., Gómez-Olivé, F. X., Wagner, R. G., Afolabi, S. A., Tollman, S. M., Selin, A., MacPhail, C. L., et al. (2018) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019167 · Cited by 27
“Further threats to validity can occur if study participation itself induces behaviour change (Hawthorne effect, research participation effect or trial effect, referred to here, collectively, as ‘Hawthorne effect’).(4) 5 Analysing study data to examine how results may have differed in the target population to which we…”
Background
The suitability of computer‐based training for workers with limited formal education: a case study from the US agricultural sector
Anger, W. K., Stupfel, J., Ammerman, T. A., Tamulinas, A., Bodner, T., & Rohlman, D. S. (2006) · International Journal of Training and Development · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2419.2006.00260.x · Cited by 27
Effect of a Community Action Program on Adult Quit Smoking Rates in Rural Australian Towns: The CART Project
Hancock, L., Sanson‐Fisher, R., Perkins, J. J., McClintock, A., Howley, P., & Gibberd, R. W. (2001) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.2000.0798 · Cited by 27
Computational Thinking Integration into Pre-Service Science Teacher Education: A Systematic Review
Yun, M., & Crippen, K. J. (2024) · Journal of Science Teacher Education · doi:10.1080/1046560x.2024.2390758 · Cited by 26
“Additionally, the Hawthorne effects also present a challenge in field experiments where participants’ awareness of being part of a study modifies their behavior compared to how it would occur naturally without such awareness (Adair, 1984).”
Identifying subsets of patients with single-level degenerative disc disease for lumbar fusion: the value of prognostic tests in surgical decision making
Staartjes, V. E., Vergroesen, P. A., Zeilstra, D. J., & Schröder, M. L. (2017) · The Spine Journal · doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2017.08.242 · Cited by 26
Nurse Responses to Physiologic Monitor Alarms on a General Pediatric Unit
Schondelmeyer, A. C., Daraiseh, N. M., Allison, B., Acree, C., Loechtenfeldt, A. M., Timmons, K. M., Mangeot, C., & Brady, P. W. (2019) · Journal of Hospital Medicine · doi:10.12788/jhm.3234 · Cited by 26
Peer tutoring in algebra: A study in Middle school
Alegre, F., Miravet, L. M., Maroto, A., & Valentín, G. L. (2019) · The Journal of Educational Research · doi:10.1080/00220671.2019.1693947 · Cited by 26
“Students were not informed at any time that their results would be examined for research purposes so that the Hawthorne Effect or any other similar effect would not distort the results (Adair, 1984).”
Background
The Relative Effectiveness of Teachers and Learning Software: Evidence from a Field Experiment in El Salvador
Büchel, K., Jakob, M., Kühnhanss, C., Steffen, D., & Brunetti, A. (2021) · Journal of Labor Economics · doi:10.1086/717727 · Cited by 26

Authors: Adair, J. G.
Affiliations: University of Manitoba (CA)
Corresponding author: Adair, John G.
Venue: Journal of Applied Psychology
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1984-05
Volume: 69
Issue: 2
Pages: 334-345
ISSN: 0021-9010 (ISSN-L)
1939-1854
DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.69.2.334
OpenAlex: W2078241739
Cited by: 1,095
References: 39
Citations by year: 2026: 63 · 2025: 88 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 46 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 50 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 66 · 2015: 65 · 2014: 58 · 2013: 52 · 2012: 54
FWCI: 2.77
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Journal of Applied Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychology Research and Bibliometrics
Social Sciences › Psychology › General Psychology › Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology
Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
Keywords: Hawthorne effect, methodological artifacts, field experiments, experimenter effects, Hawthorne studies, Western Electric Company, educational research

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The Hawthorne effect: A reconsideration of the methodological artifact.

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