Is the Hawthorne Effect a Myth?

This video describes the Hawthorne Effect. The Hawthorne Effect was an interpretation of research conducted at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Cicero, IL in the 1920’s. The Hawthorne Effect states that if participants are observed or changes in the work environment are made, productivity will increase. The Hawthorne Effect has been confused with Demand Characteristics. Demand Characteristics occurs when participants work in a way to please the experimenters. The Hawthorne Effect myth occurred because of poor research methodology and poor interpretation of the analysis from the experiments.