Gd. Gottfredson, THE HAWTHORNE MISUNDERSTANDING (AND HOW TO GET THE HAWTHORNE EFFECT IN ACTION RESEARCH), Journal of research in crime and delinquency, 33(1), 1996, pp. 28-48
The Hawthorne relay-assembly research has been misinterpreted as showi
ng that interest in employees' well-being is sufficient to stimulate i
ncreased performance. In the original studies of this phenomenon, the
assemblers of relays received considerable attention, but they also wa
nted to improve their performance and they were given feedback on how
they performed As a result, they learned to produce more relays. The '
'Hawthorne misunderstanding'' is common in criminology, criminal justi
ce, and other fields because authors have failed to recognize this exp
lanation of improved work output. Producing real Hawthorne effects-tha
t is, improvements in the performance of people-is important in action
research, and such improvements are often the aims of scientists who
pursue this form of research. To produce Hawthorne effects, foster the
acceptance of performance goals or standards, provide feedback on per
formance, and remove obstacles to improved performance.