Experiment is an integral part of modern psychology. It was the use of experimental methods that allowed psychology to take shape as an independent science.
Instructions
Step 1
There is the concept of experimental psychology, which is not an independent type of psychology, but is a general methodological approach carried out within the framework of different areas of psychological science. The concept of experimental psychology is used to refer to different types of scientific and psychological research in which experimental methods are used.
Step 2
Experimental methods in psychology, as a rule, are reduced to laboratory research and less often to natural ones. In the course of research, there is a preliminary planning and organization of experiments related to different areas of psychology, in particular, applied. Within the framework of experimental psychology, for example, effective methods are being developed for studying the psychophysiology of sensations - language, thinking, memory, learning, attention, perception, awareness, development. Also, experimental approaches are increasingly being used in social psychology and in the study of emotions and motivations.
Step 3
Psychology, as an experimental science, is based on a number of principles: general scientific methodological and specific, directly related to psychology. The first group includes the principle of determinism (human behavior is determined by certain reasons), the principle of objectivity (independence of the object of knowledge from the cognizing subject) and the principle of falsifiability (by experiment, a theory that claims to be scientific can be refuted). The second group includes the principle of the unity of the psychological and the physical, the principle of the unity of activity and consciousness, the principle of development (the psyche of the subject develops throughout history and with changes in genes), the systemic-structural principle (mental phenomena are considered as integral processes).
Step 4
The first information about conducting psychological experiments dates back to the 16th century. The book by G. T. Fechner "Elements of Psychophysics" (1860) is considered the first work on experimental psychology. The first scientific psychological school began its work in Wundt's laboratory in 1879. Further, the experimental side of psychological science manifested itself more and more actively, and laboratories began to appear in all countries of the world.
Step 5
Psychology as an experimental science finds application in the field of education and upbringing, in court proceedings, in medical practice, in economic life, art, etc. It helps to solve various questions and problems, based on the results of experimental research.
