Simply stated, the Hawthorne effect is an increase in worker productivity when an interest is shown in the work and worker.

The idea came about as a result of a study at the Hawthorne Plant Western Electric Company in Illinois in the late 1920s. The workers got more done each day when they were given attention by the management. Work conditions such as pay, light levels, and rest breaks were changed and then returned to normal. With each change workers produced more.

he experiment started a whole field of study now known as Industrial Psychology. The same concept seems to apply in medicine. If a patient expects to get better, he or she will have a better outcome. If patients are offered a new treatment, they have a faster recovery compared to patients getting the "old" method of treatment.