This study was an examination of the Hawthorne Effect in a verbal learning situation in an educational setting. The Hawthorne Effect was defined as the facilitating effect(s) produced in experimental situations when the subjects of the experiment expect that they are the objects of special attention. The purpose of the study was to determine if contamination by the Hawthorne Effect existed in an educational setting. Comparisons were made between "experimentally inexperienced" subjects and "experimentally experienced" subjects at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The task was to learn a list of paired associate terms, and to show learning retention by immediate replication of those terms. The focus of the study was upon the expected differences in performance of the control and experimental groups produced as a result of an effort to persuade experimental subjects that they had "unique" characteristics which would cause them to be exceptionally proficient. The control groups were given the task by the course instructor in a usual classroom setting,as an example of a curriculum objective. Recommendations for further research were as follows: (1) the personality variables of the researcher and those of the subjects being tested should be thoroughly delineated; (2) sex differences in performance should be scrutinized further, since there were indications that females did react differently from males in the experimental situation; (3) other academic disciplines should be examined with respect to susceptibility to the Hawthorne Effect; and (4) other social settings should be examined with respect to the Hawthorne Effect contamination.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc332121 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Simpson, Bert L. |
| Contributors | Curry, John F., Gabet, Yvonne H., Williamson, John A., Gilman, Peter J. |
| Publisher | North Texas State University |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | vi, 127 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Simpson, Bert L., Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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