So what is the theory behind the Hawthorne effect? It is relatively easy to replicate those experiments. But effects like this remain 'unfounded' when they are

So what is the theory behind the Hawthorne effect? It is relatively easy to replicate those experiments. But effects like this remain 'unfounded' when they are not embedded into a larger theory. The 'larger theories' are the main problem of psychology and social sciences in general. In contrast to e.g. physics they don't have the luxury to produce theories in and for a context-free imaginative ideal world.