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experimental psychology

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• Verywell Mind - How Does Experimental Psychology Study Behavior?

experimental psychology , a method of studying psychological phenomena and processes. The experimental method in psychology attempts to account for the activities of animals (including humans) and the functional organization of mental processes by manipulating variables that may give rise to behaviour; it is primarily concerned with discovering laws that describe manipulable relationships. The term generally connotes all areas of psychology that use the experimental method.

These areas include the study of sensation and perception , learning and memory , motivation , and biological psychology . There are experimental branches in many other areas, however, including child psychology , clinical psychology , educational psychology , and social psychology . Usually the experimental psychologist deals with normal, intact organisms; in biological psychology, however, studies are often conducted with organisms modified by surgery, radiation, drug treatment, or long-standing deprivations of various kinds or with organisms that naturally present organic abnormalities or emotional disorders. See also psychophysics .

Experimental Psychology: 10 Examples & Definition

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Experimental psychology refers to studying psychological phenomena using scientific methods. Originally, the primary scientific method involved manipulating one variable and observing systematic changes in another variable.

Today, psychologists utilize several types of scientific methodologies.

Experimental psychology examines a wide range of psychological phenomena, including: memory, sensation and perception, cognitive processes, motivation, emotion, developmental processes, in addition to the neurophysiological concomitants of each of these subjects.

Studies are conducted on both animal and human participants, and must comply with stringent requirements and controls regarding the ethical treatment of both.

Definition of Experimental Psychology

Experimental psychology is a branch of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to investigate the mind and behavior.

It involves the systematic and controlled study of human and animal behavior through observation and experimentation .

Experimental psychologists design and conduct experiments to understand cognitive processes, perception, learning, memory, emotion, and many other aspects of psychology. They often manipulate variables ( independent variables ) to see how this affects behavior or mental processes (dependent variables).

The findings from experimental psychology research are often used to better understand human behavior and can be applied in a range of contexts, such as education, health, business, and more.

Experimental Psychology Examples

1. The Puzzle Box Studies (Thorndike, 1898) Placing different cats in a box that can only be escaped by pulling a cord, and then taking detailed notes on how long it took for them to escape allowed Edward Thorndike to derive the Law of Effect: actions followed by positive consequences are more likely to occur again, and actions followed by negative consequences are less likely to occur again (Thorndike, 1898).

2. Reinforcement Schedules (Skinner, 1956) By placing rats in a Skinner Box and changing when and how often the rats are rewarded for pressing a lever, it is possible to identify how each schedule results in different behavior patterns (Skinner, 1956). This led to a wide range of theoretical ideas around how rewards and consequences can shape the behaviors of both animals and humans.

3. Observational Learning (Bandura, 1980) Some children watch a video of an adult punching and kicking a Bobo doll. Other children watch a video in which the adult plays nicely with the doll. By carefully observing the children’s behavior later when in a room with a Bobo doll, researchers can determine if television violence affects children’s behavior (Bandura, 1980).

4. The Fallibility of Memory (Loftus & Palmer, 1974) A group of participants watch the same video of two cars having an accident. Two weeks later, some are asked to estimate the rate of speed the cars were going when they “smashed” into each other. Some participants are asked to estimate the rate of speed the cars were going when they “bumped” into each other. Changing the phrasing of the question changes the memory of the eyewitness.

5. Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom (Dweck, 1990) To investigate the role of autonomy on intrinsic motivation, half of the students are told they are “free to choose” which tasks to complete. The other half of the students are told they “must choose” some of the tasks. Researchers then carefully observe how long the students engage in the tasks and later ask them some questions about if they enjoyed doing the tasks or not.

6. Systematic Desensitization (Wolpe, 1958) A clinical psychologist carefully documents his treatment of a patient’s social phobia with progressive relaxation. At first, the patient is trained to monitor, tense, and relax various muscle groups while viewing photos of parties. Weeks later, they approach a stranger to ask for directions, initiate a conversation on a crowded bus, and attend a small social gathering. The therapist’s notes are transcribed into a scientific report and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

7. Study of Remembering (Bartlett, 1932) Bartlett’s work is a seminal study in the field of memory, where he used the concept of “schema” to describe an organized pattern of thought or behavior. He conducted a series of experiments using folk tales to show that memory recall is influenced by cultural schemas and personal experiences.

8. Study of Obedience (Milgram, 1963) This famous study explored the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. Milgram found that a majority of participants were willing to administer what they believed were harmful electric shocks to a stranger when instructed by an authority figure, highlighting the power of authority and situational factors in driving behavior.

9. Pavlov’s Dog Study (Pavlov, 1927) Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, conducted a series of experiments that became a cornerstone in the field of experimental psychology. Pavlov noticed that dogs would salivate when they saw food. He then began to ring a bell each time he presented the food to the dogs. After a while, the dogs began to salivate merely at the sound of the bell. This experiment demonstrated the principle of “classical conditioning.”

10, Piaget’s Stages of Development (Piaget, 1958) Jean Piaget proposed a theory of cognitive development in children that consists of four distinct stages: the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years), where children learn about the world through their senses and motor activities, through to the the formal operational stage (12 years and beyond), where abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking develop. Piaget’s theory is an example of experimental psychology as it was developed through systematic observation and experimentation on children’s problem-solving behaviors .

Types of Research Methodologies in Experimental Psychology 

Researchers utilize several different types of research methodologies since the early days of Wundt (1832-1920).

1. The Experiment

The experiment involves the researcher manipulating the level of one variable, called the Independent Variable (IV), and then observing changes in another variable, called the Dependent Variable (DV).

The researcher is interested in determining if the IV causes changes in the DV. For example, does television violence make children more aggressive?

So, some children in the study, called research participants, will watch a show with TV violence, called the treatment group. Others will watch a show with no TV violence, called the control group.

So, there are two levels of the IV: violence and no violence. Next, children will be observed to see if they act more aggressively. This is the DV.

If TV violence makes children more aggressive, then the children that watched the violent show will me more aggressive than the children that watched the non-violent show.

A key requirement of the experiment is random assignment . Each research participant is assigned to one of the two groups in a way that makes it a completely random process. This means that each group will have a mix of children: different personality types, diverse family backgrounds, and range of intelligence levels.

2. The Longitudinal Study

A longitudinal study involves selecting a sample of participants and then following them for years, or decades, periodically collecting data on the variables of interest.

For example, a researcher might be interested in determining if parenting style affects academic performance of children. Parenting style is called the predictor variable , and academic performance is called the outcome variable .

Researchers will begin by randomly selecting a group of children to be in the study. Then, they will identify the type of parenting practices used when the children are 4 and 5 years old.

A few years later, perhaps when the children are 8 and 9, the researchers will collect data on their grades. This process can be repeated over the next 10 years, including through college.

If parenting style has an effect on academic performance, then the researchers will see a connection between the predictor variable and outcome variable.

Children raised with parenting style X will have higher grades than children raised with parenting style Y.

3. The Case Study

The case study is an in-depth study of one individual. This is a research methodology often used early in the examination of a psychological phenomenon or therapeutic treatment.

For example, in the early days of treating phobias, a clinical psychologist may try teaching one of their patients how to relax every time they see the object that creates so much fear and anxiety, such as a large spider.

The therapist would take very detailed notes on how the teaching process was implemented and the reactions of the patient. When the treatment had been completed, those notes would be written in a scientific form and submitted for publication in a scientific journal for other therapists to learn from.

There are several other types of methodologies available which vary different aspects of the three described above. The researcher will select a methodology that is most appropriate to the phenomenon they want to examine.

They also must take into account various practical considerations such as how much time and resources are needed to complete the study. Conducting research always costs money.

People and equipment are needed to carry-out every study, so researchers often try to obtain funding from their university or a government agency. 

Origins and Key Developments in Experimental Psychology

Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (1832-1920) is considered one of the fathers of modern psychology. He was a physiologist and philosopher and helped establish psychology as a distinct discipline (Khaleefa, 1999).  

In 1879 he established the world’s first psychology research lab at the University of Leipzig. This is considered a key milestone for establishing psychology as a scientific discipline. In addition to being the first person to use the term “psychologist,” to describe himself, he also founded the discipline’s first scientific journal Philosphische Studien in 1883.

Another notable figure in the development of experimental psychology is Ernest Weber . Trained as a physician, Weber studied sensation and perception and created the first quantitative law in psychology.

The equation denotes how judgments of sensory differences are relative to previous levels of sensation, referred to as the just-noticeable difference (jnd). This is known today as Weber’s Law (Hergenhahn, 2009).    

Gustav Fechner , one of Weber’s students, published the first book on experimental psychology in 1860, titled Elemente der Psychophysik. His worked centered on the measurement of psychophysical facets of sensation and perception, with many of his methods still in use today.    

The first American textbook on experimental psychology was Elements of Physiological Psychology, published in 1887 by George Trumball Ladd .

Ladd also established a psychology lab at Yale University, while Stanley Hall and Charles Sanders continued Wundt’s work at a lab at Johns Hopkins University.

In the late 1800s, Charles Pierce’s contribution to experimental psychology is especially noteworthy because he invented the concept of random assignment (Stigler, 1992; Dehue, 1997).

Go Deeper: 15 Random Assignment Examples

This procedure ensures that each participant has an equal chance of being placed in any of the experimental groups (e.g., treatment or control group). This eliminates the influence of confounding factors related to inherent characteristics of the participants.

Random assignment is a fundamental criterion for a study to be considered a valid experiment.

From there, experimental psychology flourished in the 20th century as a science and transformed into an approach utilized in cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology .

Today, the term experimental psychology refers to the study of a wide range of phenomena and involves methodologies not limited to the manipulation of variables.

The Scientific Process and Experimental Psychology

The one thing that makes psychology a science and distinguishes it from its roots in philosophy is the reliance upon the scientific process to answer questions. This makes psychology a science was the main goal of its earliest founders such as Wilhelm Wundt.

There are numerous steps in the scientific process, outlined in the graphic below.

1. Observation

First, the scientist observes an interesting phenomenon that sparks a question. For example, are the memories of eyewitnesses really reliable, or are they subject to bias or unintentional manipulation?

2. Hypothesize

Next, this question is converted into a testable hypothesis. For instance: the words used to question a witness can influence what they think they remember.

3. Devise a Study

Then the researcher(s) select a methodology that will allow them to test that hypothesis. In this case, the researchers choose the experiment, which will involve randomly assigning some participants to different conditions.

In one condition, participants are asked a question that implies a certain memory (treatment group), while other participants are asked a question which is phrased neutrally and does not imply a certain memory (control group).

The researchers then write a proposal that describes in detail the procedures they want to use, how participants will be selected, and the safeguards they will employ to ensure the rights of the participants.

That proposal is submitted to an Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is comprised of a panel of researchers, community representatives, and other professionals that are responsible for reviewing all studies involving human participants.

4. Conduct the Study

If the IRB accepts the proposal, then the researchers may begin collecting data. After the data has been collected, it is analyzed using a software program such as SPSS.

Those analyses will either support or reject the hypothesis. That is, either the participants’ memories were affected by the wording of the question, or not.

5. Publish the study

Finally, the researchers write a paper detailing their procedures and results of the statistical analyses. That paper is then submitted to a scientific journal.

The lead editor of that journal will then send copies of the paper to 3-5 experts in that subject. Each of those experts will read the paper and basically try to find as many things wrong with it as possible. Because they are experts, they are very good at this task.

After reading those critiques, most likely, the editor will send the paper back to the researchers and require that they respond to the criticisms, collect more data, or reject the paper outright.

In some cases, the study was so well-done that the criticisms were minimal and the editor accepts the paper. It then gets published in the scientific journal several months later.

That entire process can easily take 2 years, usually more. But, the findings of that study went through a very rigorous process. This means that we can have substantial confidence that the conclusions of the study are valid.

Experimental psychology refers to utilizing a scientific process to investigate psychological phenomenon.

There are a variety of methods employed today. They are used to study a wide range of subjects, including memory, cognitive processes, emotions and the neurophysiological basis of each.

The history of psychology as a science began in the 1800s primarily in Germany. As interest grew, the field expanded to the United States where several influential research labs were established.

As more methodologies were developed, the field of psychology as a science evolved into a prolific scientific discipline that has provided invaluable insights into human behavior.

Bartlett, F. C., & Bartlett, F. C. (1995).  Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology . Cambridge university press.

Dehue, T. (1997). Deception, efficiency, and random groups: Psychology and the gradual origination of the random group design. Isis , 88 (4), 653-673.

Ebbinghaus, H. (2013). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology.  Annals of neurosciences ,  20 (4), 155.

Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology. Belmont. CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning .

Khaleefa, O. (1999). Who is the founder of psychophysics and experimental psychology? American Journal of Islam and Society , 16 (2), 1-26.

Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J. C. (1974).  Reconstruction of auto-mobile destruction : An example of the interaction between language and memory.  Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal behavior , 13, 585-589.

Pavlov, I.P. (1927). Conditioned reflexes . Dover, New York.

Piaget, J. (1959).  The language and thought of the child  (Vol. 5). Psychology Press.

Piaget, J., Fraisse, P., & Reuchlin, M. (2014). Experimental psychology its scope and method: Volume I (Psychology Revivals): History and method . Psychology Press.

Skinner, B. F. (1956). A case history in scientlfic method. American Psychologist, 11 , 221-233

Stigler, S. M. (1992). A historical view of statistical concepts in psychology and educational research. American Journal of Education , 101 (1), 60-70.

Thorndike, E. L. (1898). Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals. Psychological Review Monograph Supplement 2 .

Wolpe, J. (1958). Psychotherapy by reciprocal inhibition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Appendix: Images reproduced as Text

Definition: Experimental psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on conducting systematic and controlled experiments to study human behavior and cognition.

Overview: Experimental psychology aims to gather empirical evidence and explore cause-and-effect relationships between variables. Experimental psychologists utilize various research methods, including laboratory experiments, surveys, and observations, to investigate topics such as perception, memory, learning, motivation, and social behavior .

Example: The Pavlov’s Dog experimental psychology experiment used scientific methods to develop a theory about how learning and association occur in animals. The same concepts were subsequently used in the study of humans, wherein psychology-based ideas about learning were developed. Pavlov’s use of the empirical evidence was foundational to the study’s success.

Experimental Psychology Milestones:

1890: William James publishes “The Principles of Psychology”, a foundational text in the field of psychology.

1896: Lightner Witmer opens the first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania, marking the beginning of clinical psychology.

1913: John B. Watson publishes “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It”, marking the beginning of Behaviorism.

1920: Hermann Rorschach introduces the Rorschach inkblot test.

1938: B.F. Skinner introduces the concept of operant conditioning .

1967: Ulric Neisser publishes “Cognitive Psychology” , marking the beginning of the cognitive revolution.

1980: The third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) is published, introducing a new classification system for mental disorders.

The Scientific Process

• Observe an interesting phenomenon
• Formulate testable hypothesis
• Select methodology and design study
• Submit research proposal to IRB
• Collect and analyzed data; write paper
• Submit paper for critical reviews

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Experimental Psychology

Definition:

Experimental psychology is a subfield of psychology that focuses on scientific investigation and research methods to study human behavior and mental processes. It involves conducting controlled experiments to examine hypotheses and gather empirical data.

Subfields of Experimental Psychology:

Sensory processes:.

Sensory processes in experimental psychology involve understanding how humans perceive and process information through their senses, such as vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.

Learning and Memory:

This subfield explores how individuals acquire and retain knowledge and skills, including the study of different types of memory, learning strategies, and factors that influence memory processes.

Cognitive Psychology:

Cognitive psychology examines mental processes, including attention, perception, problem-solving, decision-making, language, and thinking. It investigates how individuals process information, solve problems, and make decisions.

Developmental Psychology:

Developmental psychology focuses on the study of human development across the lifespan, from infancy to old age. It investigates how individuals change physically, cognitively, and emotionally as they grow and mature.

Social Psychology:

Social psychology studies how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by social interactions and social environments. It examines topics such as conformity, persuasion, group dynamics, and intergroup relations.

Personality Psychology:

Personality psychology aims to understand individual differences in behavior, thoughts, and emotions. It investigates various personality traits, their development, and how they influence behavior and well-being.

Psychopathology:

This subfield focuses on the study of mental disorders, their causes, symptoms, and treatments. Psychopathology research is often conducted using experimental methods to examine the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.

Psychopharmacology:

Psychopharmacology involves studying the effects of drugs on behavior, cognition, and emotions. It examines how different medications impact mental processes and aims to develop effective pharmacological treatments for psychological disorders.

Neuropsychology:

Neuropsychology investigates the relationship between brain function and behavior. It examines how brain damage, genetics, and neurological disorders affect cognitive abilities, emotions, and behavior.

B.A. in Psychology

What Is Experimental Psychology?

The science of psychology spans several fields. There are dozens of disciplines in psychology, including abnormal psychology, cognitive psychology and social psychology.

One way to view these fields is to separate them into two types: applied vs. experimental psychology. These groups describe virtually any type of work in psychology.

The following sections explore what experimental psychology is and some examples of what it covers.

Experimental psychology seeks to explore and better understand behavior through empirical research methods. This work allows findings to be employed in real-world applications (applied psychology) across fields such as clinical psychology, educational psychology, forensic psychology, sports psychology, and social psychology. Experimental psychology is able to shed light on people’s personalities and life experiences by examining what the way people behave and how behavior is shaped throughout life, along with other theoretical questions. The field looks at a wide range of behavioral topics including sensation, perception, attention, memory, cognition, and emotion, according to the  American Psychological Association  (APA).

Research is the focus of experimental psychology. Using scientific methods to collect data and perform research, experimental psychology focuses on certain questions, and, one study at a time, reveals information that contributes to larger findings or a conclusion. Due to the breadth and depth of certain areas of study, researchers can spend their entire careers looking at a complex research question.

Experimental Psychology in Action

The APA  writes about  one experimental psychologist, Robert McCann, who is now retired after 19 years working at NASA. During his time at NASA, his work focused on the user experience — on land and in space — where he applied his expertise to cockpit system displays, navigation systems, and safety displays used by astronauts in NASA spacecraft. McCann’s knowledge of human information processing allowed him to help NASA design shuttle displays that can increase the safety of shuttle missions. He looked at human limitations of attention and display processing to gauge what people can reliably see and correctly interpret on an instrument panel. McCann played a key role in helping determining the features of cockpit displays without overloading the pilot or taxing their attention span.

“One of the purposes of the display was to alert the astronauts to the presence of a failure that interrupted power in a specific region,” McCann said, “The most obvious way to depict this interruption was to simply remove (or dim) the white line(s) connecting the affected components. Basic research on visual attention has shown that humans do not notice the removal of a display feature very easily when the display is highly cluttered. We are much better at noticing a feature or object that is suddenly added to a display.” McCann utilized his knowledge in experimental psychology to research and develop this very important development for NASA. 

Valve Corporation

Another experimental psychologist, Mike Ambinder, uses his expertise to help design video games. He is a senior experimental psychologist at Valve Corporation, a video game developer and developer of the software distribution platform Steam. Ambinder told  Orlando Weekly  that his career working on gaming hits such as Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead “epitomizes the intersection between scientific innovation and electronic entertainment.” His career started when he gave a presentation to Valve on applying psychology to game design; this occurred while he was finishing his PhD in experimental design. “I’m very lucky to have landed at a company where freedom and autonomy and analytical decision-making are prized,” he said. “I realized how fortunate I was to work for a company that would encourage someone with a background in psychology to see what they could contribute in a field where they had no prior experience.” 

Ambinder spends his time on data analysis, hardware research, play-testing methodologies, and on any aspect of games where knowledge of human behavior could be useful. Ambinder described Valve’s process for refining a product as straightforward. “We come up with a game design (our hypothesis), and we place it in front of people external to the company (our play-test or experiment). We gather their feedback, and then iterate and improve the design (refining the theory). It’s essentially the scientific method applied to game design, and the end result is the consequence of many hours of applying this process.” To gather play-test data, Ambinder is engaged in the newer field of biofeedback technology, which can quantify gamers’ enjoyment. His research looks at unobtrusive measurements of facial expressions that can achieve such goals. Ambinder is also examining eye-tracking as a next-generation input method.

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An Introduction to Experimental Psychology: Principles, Applications, and Discoveries

Curious about the inner workings of the human mind? Experimental psychology delves into the complexities of human behavior and cognition through rigorous scientific methods.

In this article, we explore the goals and principles of experimental psychology, its diverse applications in fields such as clinical and educational psychology, and some of the groundbreaking discoveries that have shaped our understanding of human behavior.

Join us on a journey through the fascinating world of experimental psychology.

• Experimental psychology uses an empirical approach to study behavior and mental processes.
• Objectivity, control, and replication are essential principles in experimental psychology.
• This field has applications in clinical, educational, industrial, and forensic settings.
• Some famous discoveries in experimental psychology include classical and operant conditioning, obedience and eyewitness studies, and attachment research.
• 1.1 What Is the Goal of Experimental Psychology?
• 2.1 Empirical Approach
• 2.2 Objectivity
• 2.3 Control
• 2.4 Replication
• 3.1 Clinical Psychology
• 3.2 Educational Psychology
• 3.3 Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• 3.4 Forensic Psychology
• 4.1 Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
• 4.2 Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
• 4.3 Milgram’s Obedience Study
• 4.4 Loftus and Palmer’s Eyewitness Testimony Study
• 4.5 Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment
• 4.6 Harlow’s Attachment Study
• 5.1 What is experimental psychology?
• 5.2 What are the main principles of experimental psychology?
• 5.3 How is experimental psychology applied in real life?
• 5.4 What are some famous discoveries in experimental psychology?
• 5.5 What are some common research methods used in experimental psychology?
• 5.6 How can I get involved in experimental psychology?

What Is Experimental Psychology?

Experimental psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on understanding human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions through systematic research and studies.

One of the key goals of experimental psychology is to apply scientific methods to investigate various phenomena, such as memory, attention, decision-making, and motivation. Researchers in this field often employ controlled experiments to test hypotheses and gather empirical evidence. By manipulating variables in carefully designed studies, experimental psychologists aim to elucidate the underlying mechanisms that drive human behavior. Through these investigations, they can also uncover patterns and principles that contribute to the development of psychological theories and models.

What Is the Goal of Experimental Psychology?

The primary goal of experimental psychology is to uncover the underlying mechanisms that govern human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions through controlled scientific studies and rigorous experimentation.

By conducting carefully designed experiments and observing human responses in controlled settings, experimental psychologists aim to establish causal relationships between variables and outcomes, shedding light on the intricate workings of the human mind and behavior.

Scientific rigor is paramount in this field, ensuring that findings are reliable and valid, contributing to the cumulative knowledge base of psychology.

Through the systematic manipulation of independent variables and measurement of dependent variables, researchers in experimental psychology strive to elucidate the complexities of human cognition, emotion, and behavior.

What Are the Principles of Experimental Psychology?

The principles of experimental psychology are founded on key tenets such as an empirical approach , objectivity, control, and replication, which form the basis for conducting rigorous scientific investigations into human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions.

Experimental psychology’s reliance on an empirical approach ensures that research conclusions are based on observable evidence rather than subjective opinions. This emphasis on objectivity minimizes bias and strengthens the reliability of study outcomes. The control over variables allows researchers to isolate specific factors influencing behavior, aiding in the establishment of causal relationships. By replicating findings, psychologists verify the robustness and validity of their results, contributing to the advancement of knowledge within the field.

Empirical Approach

The empirical approach in experimental psychology emphasizes the reliance on direct observation, data collection, and experimentation to investigate and understand human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions in a systematic and scientific manner.

This approach is fundamental in gathering objective and quantifiable data that can be analyzed to draw meaningful conclusions about various aspects of human psychology. Utilizing controlled experiments, researchers can manipulate variables to observe the cause and effect relationships, which provides valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of behavior. Through meticulous experimental designs, such as within-subject and between-subject studies, researchers can compare different conditions and assess the impact of specific factors on human responses. Employing rigorous data collection techniques, including surveys, interviews, and physiological measurements, enables researchers to gather comprehensive data sets for in-depth analysis.

Objectivity

Objectivity is a crucial principle in experimental psychology, ensuring that researchers maintain a neutral and unbiased perspective when conducting studies, analyzing data, and interpreting results related to human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions.

It is essential for researchers to approach their experiments with a mindset free from personal biases, preconceptions, or preferences, as these can cloud judgment and impact the validity of their findings. By adhering to the principle of objectivity, psychologists strive to minimize the influence of their own beliefs, emotions, or expectations on the research process.

Impartiality in data collection and analysis is fundamental for drawing accurate and reliable conclusions. Researchers must gather information systematically, without favoring certain outcomes, and interpret results objectively to avoid skewing the findings in any particular direction.

Control is a fundamental principle in experimental psychology, enabling researchers to manipulate variables, establish cause-and-effect relationships, and minimize extraneous influences that could impact the study of human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions.

This principle of control plays a crucial role in the meticulous design of experiments. By carefully designing studies with controlled variables, researchers can precisely isolate the effects of the variables under investigation.

Through skilled manipulation of these variables, within a controlled setting, researchers can ascertain the causal relationships between them and the resulting outcomes observed.

This meticulous process not only allows for a deeper understanding of human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions but also contributes significantly to the advancement of knowledge in the field of experimental psychology.

Replication

Replication is a critical principle in experimental psychology that emphasizes the need to reproduce research findings consistently through repeated studies, enhancing the reliability and validity of conclusions related to human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions.

By replicating studies, researchers can verify the accuracy and generalizability of their results, ensuring that the observed effects are not merely due to chance or specific experimental conditions.

Replication also allows for the identification of potential errors or biases that may have influenced initial findings. The process of replication contributes to the cumulative nature of scientific knowledge, building a solid foundation of evidence that can withstand scrutiny and contribute to the advancement of the field.

What Are the Applications of Experimental Psychology?

Experimental psychology finds diverse applications in various subfields such as clinical psychology, educational psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, and forensic psychology, where insights into human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions are utilized to address specific challenges and phenomena.

For instance, in clinical psychology, experimental findings help in understanding the mechanisms underlying mental disorders and developing effective therapeutic interventions. Educational psychology benefits from research on learning processes and memory retention to enhance teaching methods and curriculum designs.

In the industrial and organizational psychology domain, experimental studies play a crucial role in optimizing workplace environments, employee motivation, and leadership strategies. Forensic psychology relies on experimental investigations to analyze witness testimonies, jury decision-making, and offender behavior for legal proceedings.

Clinical Psychology

Clinical psychology utilizes insights from experimental psychology to understand and treat mental health disorders, behavioral issues, and emotional disturbances by applying evidence-based interventions and therapies rooted in scientific research on human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions.

By integrating the findings of experimental psychology into clinical practice, psychologists are able to enhance their understanding of the underlying mechanisms that drive various psychological conditions. For instance, research on memory, learning, and decision-making processes has greatly contributed to the development of effective therapeutic techniques for individuals dealing with trauma or addiction.

This interdisciplinary approach allows clinicians to tailor their treatment strategies to address the specific needs of each patient, leading to more personalized and successful outcomes in therapy. Experimental psychology informs the assessment methods used in diagnosing disorders and monitoring treatment progress, enabling psychologists to make data-driven decisions to optimize patient care.

Educational Psychology

Educational psychology integrates experimental research on learning , memory , motivation , and cognition to enhance teaching practices, curriculum design, and student outcomes, leveraging scientific insights into human behavior and cognition to optimize educational strategies and interventions.

Experimental psychology plays a pivotal role within educational settings by providing valuable empirical evidence that informs and shapes the methodologies and approaches used in teaching. Through rigorous experimentation and analysis, researchers in this field uncover patterns and trends in how individuals learn, process information, and engage with educational content.

By applying the findings from experimental psychology studies, educators can tailor their instructional techniques, adjust curricula, and enhance classroom environments to better suit the diverse learning needs of students. This evidence-based approach ensures that teaching practices are rooted in science and adapted to align with the cognitive processes and needs of learners.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Industrial and organizational psychology employs experimental methods to investigate workplace behaviors, organizational dynamics, leadership styles, and employee motivation, utilizing scientific insights into human behavior, cognition, and emotions to enhance productivity, job satisfaction, and organizational effectiveness.

Through the lens of experimental psychology, organizations can gain valuable insights into how individuals interact within teams, respond to stressors, and make decisions in the workplace. By conducting controlled experiments and observational studies, researchers can uncover underlying psychological mechanisms influencing performance, communication patterns, and job satisfaction. These findings not only help in designing effective training programs and assessment tools but also provide a foundation for developing strategies to create a positive work environment, reduce conflicts, and foster leadership development.

Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology relies on experimental research to analyze criminal behavior, witness testimony, investigative techniques, and judicial decision-making, using scientific insights into human behavior, cognition, and emotions to inform legal proceedings, criminal investigations, and justice systems.

Experimental psychology plays a vital role in the field of forensic psychology by providing a scientific approach to understanding the complexities of human behavior in legal contexts. Through controlled experiments and research studies, psychologists can delve into the underlying factors that influence criminal conduct and witness testimonies.

The application of experimental findings in forensic contexts aids in assessing the credibility of witnesses, identifying patterns of deception, and enhancing investigative strategies to uncover crucial evidence for legal proceedings. By integrating empirical data and psychological theories, forensic psychologists can contribute valuable insights to the judicial system and law enforcement agencies.

What Are Some Famous Discoveries in Experimental Psychology?

Experimental psychology has witnessed several landmark discoveries that have shaped our understanding of human behavior, perception, cognition, and emotions, including Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning, Skinner’s Operant Conditioning, Milgram’s Obedience Study, Loftus and Palmer’s Eyewitness Testimony Study, Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment, and Harlow’s Attachment Study.

These experiments have significantly influenced the field by providing key insights into human learning, social behavior, memory, and attachment. For instance, Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning demonstrated how associations can be formed between stimuli and responses, laying the foundation for understanding various learned behaviors. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning further elucidated the role of consequences in shaping behavior, emphasizing the importance of reinforcement and punishment in learning processes.

Milgram’s Obedience Study shed light on the power of authority in influencing individuals’ actions, revealing the disturbing extent to which people may comply with unethical commands. Loftus and Palmer’s Eyewitness Testimony Study challenged the reliability of memory and highlighted how external factors can distort recollections of events.

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment pioneered the concept of observational learning, showing how individuals can acquire new behaviors through modeling others, impacting our understanding of social learning processes. Harlow’s Attachment Study revolutionized our understanding of attachment in primates by demonstrating the importance of social and emotional bonds in development.

Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning

Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning experiment demonstrated how associative learning occurs in response to stimuli, establishing a foundational principle in psychology that explains how behaviors can be modified through conditioning processes involving stimulus-response associations.

The groundbreaking study conducted by Ivan Pavlov involved ringing a bell before presenting food to dogs, initially causing them to salivate only at the sight and smell of food. Through repeated pairings of the bell and food, the dogs started associating the bell with the upcoming meal, eventually eliciting a salivary response even without food presence.

• The findings of Pavlov’s experiment showcased the phenomenon of conditioned response where previously neutral stimuli come to evoke specific behaviors due to repeated pairings with meaningful stimuli.

This essential insight into behavioral conditioning has led to a profound understanding of how learning and modification of behaviors can be achieved by manipulating environmental cues and responses.

Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

Skinner’s Operant Conditioning research elucidated how behaviors are influenced by consequences such as rewards and punishments, providing insights into operant behaviors and reinforcement principles that shape learning and behavior modification.

Skinner’s experiments involved studying how organisms learn through the consequences of their actions. He identified two main types of consequences: reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement, which includes positive reinforcement where a behavior is strengthened by a rewarding stimulus, and negative reinforcement, where a behavior is strengthened by the removal of an aversive stimulus, plays a crucial role in shaping behavior. On the other hand, punishment involves the application of an aversive stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior recurring. These concepts not only help understand how behaviors are learned but also provide effective tools for behavior modification in various fields such as education, psychology, and therapy.

Milgram’s Obedience Study

Milgram’s Obedience Study investigated the extent to which individuals comply with authority figures, revealing the powerful influence of situational factors on human behavior, obedience, and ethical considerations in social psychology.

The experimental setup of Milgram’s Obedience Study involved a simulated scenario where participants, who believed they were administering electric shocks to another person, were instructed by an authority figure to continue escalating the voltage despite hearing cries of pain. This controlled environment aimed to examine how ordinary individuals respond to perceived authority, shedding light on the psychological mechanisms underlying obedience.

The findings of the study were startling, indicating that a significant proportion of participants were willing to administer potentially harmful shocks to the ‘learner’ simply due to the influence of the authoritative instruction. This highlighted the profound impact of situational factors, such as the presence of an authority figure, on shaping behavior even against one’s moral compass.

Loftus and Palmer’s Eyewitness Testimony Study

Loftus and Palmer’s Eyewitness Testimony Study demonstrated how memory reconstruction can be influenced by leading questions, highlighting the malleability of memory and the impact of suggestion on eyewitness accounts in legal contexts.

Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer conducted a series of experiments where participants were shown a video of a car accident. They were then asked questions, with one group being asked how fast the cars smashed into each other while another was asked how fast they contacted each other. The study found that the language used significantly altered participants’ estimates of the speed of the cars, showcasing the power of wording on memory retrieval and perception.

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment illustrated the concept of observational learning, showing how individuals acquire new behaviors by observing and imitating others, thereby contributing to our understanding of social learning processes and behavior modeling.

The experiment, conducted in 1961 by psychologist Albert Bandura, involved children observing an adult model behaving aggressively towards a Bobo doll. The children were then placed in a room with toys, including the Bobo doll, and were observed to see if they would imitate the aggressive behaviors. Results showed that children who had witnessed the adult’s aggressive actions were more likely to replicate them, highlighting the power of observational learning in shaping behavior.

Harlow’s Attachment Study

Harlow’s Attachment Study with infant rhesus monkeys revealed the critical role of contact comfort in attachment formation, challenging prevailing beliefs about attachment theory and highlighting the significance of social bonding and emotional connections in developmental psychology.

The groundbreaking experiment conducted by Harlow involved separating infant monkeys from their biological mothers and providing them with two surrogate mothers – one made of wire with a feeding bottle and the other covered in soft cloth without a feeding mechanism. Most surprisingly, the baby monkeys chose to spend the majority of their time clinging to the cloth mother , emphasizing the importance of comfort and security in attachment relationships. This study reshaped the understanding of attachment dynamics by demonstrating that emotional closeness and comfort are fundamental for healthy social and emotional development, rather than just physical nourishment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is experimental psychology.

Experimental psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on using scientific methods to study human behavior and mental processes.

What are the main principles of experimental psychology?

The main principles of experimental psychology include objectivity, control, and replicability. Objectivity involves using unbiased methods to collect and analyze data. Control refers to the ability to manipulate variables and isolate their effects. Replicability involves being able to repeat an experiment and obtain similar results.

How is experimental psychology applied in real life?

Experimental psychology has various applications, such as understanding and treating mental disorders, improving education and learning, and informing public policies and practices. It is also used in market research, product development, and advertising.

What are some famous discoveries in experimental psychology?

Some famous discoveries in experimental psychology include Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning, B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning, Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments, and Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment.

What are some common research methods used in experimental psychology?

Experimental psychologists use a variety of research methods, such as laboratory experiments, field experiments, surveys, and observational studies. These methods allow them to systematically test hypotheses and gather data on human behavior and mental processes.

How can I get involved in experimental psychology?

If you are interested in experimental psychology, you can pursue a degree in psychology and focus on experimental methods. You can also participate in research studies or volunteer at a psychology research lab. Additionally, you can stay updated on current research and attend conferences or workshops in the field.

Gabriel Silva is a cultural psychologist interested in how cultural contexts influence individual psychology and vice versa. His fieldwork spans multiple continents, studying the diversity of human experience through the lens of psychology. Gabriel’s writings reflect his journey, offering readers a global perspective on the ways culture shapes our identity, values, and interactions with the world.

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Experimental Psychology

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Experimental psychology refers to the branch of psychology concerning the basic process and design method of experimental research and its application in the field of basic research and practice of psychology.

Brief History

Before the nineteenth century, the problems of psychology were mostly discussed in the field of philosophy, using the method of speculation and empirical generalization. There was a prevailing belief that the experimental method was not applicable for the study of psychological phenomena. After the Renaissance, the materialist philosophical trend of ideas and the development of natural science in Europe gave birth to the experimental psychology at the end of the nineteenth century. The former includes John Locke’s materialist empiricism, David Hartley’s associationism, and Julien Offray de La Mettrie’s mechanical materialism. The latter includes the research on nerve conduction in physiology, the debate on brain function localization and the establishment of the...

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Kantowitz BH, Roediger HL, Elmes DG (2015) Experimental psychology, 10th edn. Cengage Learning, Boston

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Zhang X-M, Hua S (2014) Experimental psychology. Beijing Normal University Publishing Group, Beijing

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Shuyong, C., Dongjun, H. (2024). Experimental Psychology. In: The ECPH Encyclopedia of Psychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6000-2_753-1

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What is Experimental Psychology?

Bryn Farnsworth

Table of Contents

The mind is a complicated place. Fortunately, the scientific method is perfectly equipped to deal with complexity. If we put these two things together we have the field of experimental psychology, broadly defined as the scientific study of the mind. The word “experimental” in this context means that tests are administered to participants, outcomes are measured, and comparisons are made.

More formally, this means that a group of participants are exposed to a stimulus (or stimuli), and their behavior in response is recorded. This behavior is compared to some kind of control condition, which could be either a neutral stimulus, the absence of a stimulus, or against a control group (who maybe do nothing at all).

Experimental psychology is concerned with testing theories of human thoughts, feelings, actions, and beyond – any aspect of being human that involves the mind. This is a broad category that features many branches within it (e.g. behavioral psychology , cognitive psychology). Below, we will go through a brief history of experimental psychology, the aspects that characterize it, and outline research that has gone on to shape this field.

A Brief History of Experimental Psychology

As with anything, and perhaps particularly with scientific ideas, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment in which a thought or approach was conceived. One of the best candidates with which to credit the emergence of experimental psychology with is Gustav Fechner who came to prominence in the 1830’s. After completing his Ph.D in biology at the University of Leipzig [1], and continuing his work as a professor, he made a significant breakthrough in the conception of mental states.

Scientists later wrote about Fechner’s breakthrough for understanding perception: “An increase in the intensity of a stimulus, Fechner argued, does not produce a one-to-one increase in the intensity of the sensation … For example, adding the sound of one bell to that of an already ringing bell produces a greater increase in sensation than adding one bell to 10 others already ringing. Therefore, the effects of stimulus intensities are not absolute but are relative to the amount of sensation that already exists.” [2]

This ultimately meant that mental perception is responsive to the material world – the mind doesn’t passively respond to a stimulus (if that was the case, there would be a linear relationship between the intensity of a stimulus and the actual perception of it), but is instead dynamically responsive to it. This conception ultimately shapes much of experimental psychology, and the grounding theory: that the response of the brain to the environment can be quantified .

Fechner went on to research within this area for many subsequent years, testing new ideas regarding human perception. Meanwhile, another German scientist working in Heidelberg to the West, began his work on the problem of multitasking, and created the next paradigm shift for experimental psychology. The scientist was Wilhem Wundt, who had followed the work of Gustav Fechner.

Wilhem Wundt is often credited with being “the father of experimental psychology” and is the founding point for many aspects of it. He began the first experimental psychology lab, scientific journal, and ultimately formalized the approach as a science. Wundt set in stone what Fechner had put on paper.

The next scientist to advance the field of experimental psychology was influenced directly by reading Fechner’s book “ Elements of Psychophysics ”. Hermann Ebbinghaus, once again a German scientist, carried out the first properly formalized research into memory and forgetting, by using long lists of (mostly) nonsense syllables (such as: “VAW”, “TEL”, “BOC”) and recording how long it took for people to forget them.

Experiments using this list, concerning learning and memory, would take up much of Ebbinghaus’ career, and help cement experimental psychology as a science. There are many other scientists’ whose contributions helped pave the way for the direction, approach, and success of experimental psychology (Hermann von Helmholtz, Ernst Weber, and Mary Whiton Calkins, to name just a few) – all played a part in creating the field as we know it today. The work that they did defined the field, providing it with characteristics that we’ll now go through below.

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What Defines Experimental Psychology?

Defining any scientific field is in itself no exact science – there are inevitably aspects that will be missed. However, experimental psychology features at least three central components that define it: empiricism, falsifiability, and determinism . These features are central to experimental psychology but also many other fields within science.

Empiricism refers to the collection of data that can support or refute a theory. In opposition to purely theoretical reasoning, empiricism is concerned with observations that can be tested. It is based on the idea that all knowledge stems from observations that can be perceived, and data surrounding them can be collected to form experiments.

Falsifiability is a foundational aspect of all contemporary scientific work. Karl Popper , a 20th century philosopher, formalized this concept – that for any theory to be scientific there must be a way to falsify it. Otherwise, ludicrous, but unprovable claims could be made with equal weight as the most rigorously tested theories.

For example, the Theory of Relativity is scientific, for example, because it is possible that evidence could emerge to disprove it. This means that it can be tested. An example of an unfalsifiable argument is that the earth is younger than it appears, but that it was created to appear older than it is – any evidence against this is dismissed within the argument itself, rendering it impossible to falsify, and therefore untestable.

Determinism refers to the notion that any event has a cause before it. Applied to mental states, this means that the brain responds to stimuli, and that these responses can ultimately be predicted, given the correct data.

These aspects of experimental psychology run throughout the research carried out within this field. There are thousands of articles featuring research that have been carried out within this vein – below we will go through just a few of the most influential and well-cited studies that have shaped this field, and look to the future of experimental psychology.

Classic Studies in Experimental Psychology

Little albert.

One of the most notorious studies within experimental psychology was also one of the foundational pieces of research for behaviorism. Popularly known as the study of “Little Albert”, this experiment, carried out in 1920, focused on whether a baby could be made to fear a stimulus through conditioning (conditioning refers to the association of a response to a stimulus) [3].

The psychologist, John B. Watson , devised an experiment in which a baby was exposed to an unconditioned stimulus (in this case, a white rat) at the same time as a fear-inducing stimulus (the loud, sudden sound of a hammer hitting a metal bar). The repetition of this loud noise paired with the appearance of the white rat eventually led to the white rat becoming a conditioned stimulus – inducing the fear response even without the sound of the hammer.

While the study was clearly problematic, and wouldn’t (and shouldn’t!) clear any ethical boards today, it was hugely influential for its time, showing how human emotional responses can be shaped intentionally by conditioning – a feat only carried out with animals prior to this [4].

Watson, later referred to by a previous professor of his as a person “who thought too highly of himself and was more interested in his own ideas than in people” [5], was later revered and reviled in equal measure [2]. While his approach has since been rightly questioned, the study was a breakthrough for the conception of human behavior .

Asch’s Conformity Experiment

Three decades following Watson’s infamous experiment, beliefs were studied rather than behavior. Research carried out by Solomon Asch in 1951 showed how the influence of group pressure could make people say what they didn’t believe.

The goal was to examine how social pressures “induce individuals to resist or to yield to group pressures when the latter are perceived to be contrary to fact” [6]. Participant’s were introduced to a group of seven people in which, unbeknownst to them, all other individuals were actors hired by Asch. The task was introduced as a perceptual test, in which the length of lines was to be compared.

Sets of lines were shown to the group of participants – three on one card, one on another (as in the image above). The apparent task was to compare the three lines and say which was most like the single line in length. The answers were plainly obvious, and in one-on-one testing, participants got a correct answer over 99% of the time. Yet in this group setting, in which each actor, one after the other, incorrectly said an incorrect line out loud, the answers of the participants would change.

On average, around 38% of the answers the participants gave were incorrect – a huge jump from the less than 1% reported in non-group settings. The study was hugely influential for showing how our actions can be impacted by the environment we are placed in, particularly when it comes to social factors.

The Invisible Gorilla

If you don’t know this research from the title already, then it’s best experienced by watching the video below, and counting the number of ball passes.

The research of course has little to do with throwing a ball around, but more to do with the likelihood of not seeing the person in a gorilla costume who appears in the middle of the screen for eight seconds. The research, carried out in 1999, investigated how our attentional resources can impact how we perceive the world [7]. The term “ inattentional blindness ” refers to the effective blindness of our perceptions when our attention is engaged in another task.

The study tested how attentional processing is distributed, suggesting that objects that are more relevant to the task are more likely to be seen than objects which simply have close spatial proximity (very roughly – something expected is more likely to be seen even if it’s further away, whereas something unexpected is less likely to be seen even if it’s close).

The research not only showed the effect of our perceptions on our experience, but also has real-world implications. A replication of this study was done using eye tracking to record the visual search of radiologists who were instructed to look for nodules on one of several X-rays of lungs [8]. As the researchers state “A gorilla, 48 times the size of the average nodule, was inserted in the last case that was presented . Eighty-three percent of the radiologists did not see the gorilla.”

The original study, and research that followed since, has been crucial for showing how our expectations about the environment can shape our perceptions. Modern research has built upon each of the ideas and studies that have been carried out across almost 200 years.

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The Future of Experimental Psychology

The majority of this article has been concerned with what experimental psychology is, where it comes from, and what it has achieved so far. An inevitable follow-up question to this is – where is it going?

While predictions are difficult to make, there are at least indications. The best place to look is to experts in the field. Schultz and Schultz refer to modern psychology “as the science of behavior and mental processes instead of only behavior, a science seeking to explain overt behavior and its relationship to mental processes.” [2].

The Association for Psychological Science (APS) asked for forecasts from several prominent psychology researchers ( original article available here ), and received some of the following responses.

Lauri Nummenmaa (Assistant professor, Aalto University, Finland) predicts a similar path to Schultz and Schultz, stating that “a major aim of the future psychological science would involve re-establishing the link between the brain and behavior”. While Modupe Akinola (Assistant professor, Columbia Business School) hopes “that advancements in technology will allow for more unobtrusive ways of measuring bodily responses”.

Kristen Lindquist (Assistant professor of psychology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine) centers in on emotional responses, saying that “We are just beginning to understand how a person’s expectations, knowledge, and prior experiences shape his or her emotions. Emotions play a role in every moment of waking life from decisions to memories to feelings, so understanding emotions will help us to understand the mind more generally.”

Tal Yarkoni (Director, Psychoinformatics Lab, University of Texas at Austin) provides a forthright assessment of what the future of experimental psychology has in store: “psychological scientists will have better data, better tools, and more reliable methods of aggregation and evaluation”.

Whatever the future of experimental psychology looks like, we at iMotions aim to keep providing all the tools needed to carry out rigorous experimental psychology research.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this introduction to experimental psychology. If you’d like to get an even closer look at the background and research within this field, then download our free guide to human behavior below.

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[1] Shiraev, E. (2015). A history of psychology . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

[2] Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2011). A History of Modern Psychology . Cengage, Canada.

[3] Watson, J.B.; Rayner, R. (1920). “Conditioned emotional reactions”. Journal of Experimental Psychology . 3 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1037/h0069608.

[4] Pavlov, I. P. (1928). Lectures on conditioned reflexes . (Translated by W.H. Gantt) London: Allen and Unwin.

[5] Brewer, C. L. (1991). Perspectives on John B. Watson . In G. A. Kimble, M. Wertheimer, & C. White (Eds.), Portraits of pioneers in psychology (pp. 171–186). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

[6] Asch, S.E. (1951). Effects of group pressure on the modification and distortion of judgments . In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership and men(pp. 177–190). Pittsburgh, PA:Carnegie Press.

[7] Simons, D. and Chabris, C. (1999). Gorillas in our midst: sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events. Perception , 28(9), pp.1059-1074.

[8] Drew, T., Võ, M. L-H., Wolfe, J. M. (2013). The invisible gorilla strikes again: sustained inattentional blindness in expert observers. Psychological Science, 24 (9):1848–1853. doi: 10.1177/0956797613479386.

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Salary and Training for Experimental Psychologists

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Work environment, job outlook.

• Is It Right for You?

At a Glance

Experimental psychologists use the scientific method to do studies that help us understand the human mind and behavior. Experimental psychology is one of the highest-paying psychology jobs, but you’ll need at least a master’s degree to work in the field.

Do you enjoy researching human behavior? If you have a passion for solving problems and exploring theoretical questions, you might be interested in a career as an experimental psychologist. Experimental psychologists study a wide range of psychological topics that involve humans and animals.

This career profile of experimental psychologists will cover what they do, the education requirements for experimental psychology, and how much money they can make.

What Experimental Psychologists Do

An experimental psychologist uses  scientific methods  to collect data and conduct research. Experimental psychologists explore all kinds of psychology topics, from learning and personality to the brain and cognitive processes. Your interests, education, and area of employment will all influence the type of research you choose to do as an experimental psychologist.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), experimental psychologists often work for universities, government agencies, private research centers, and nonprofit organizations.

Experimental psychologists may study the minds and behaviors of humans and animals. Some areas of interest in experimental psychology are memory, learning, attention, sensation and perception, and how the brain influences behavior.

Degree programs in  experimental psychology  train students to design studies, conduct empirical research, and understand the ethics of doing psychological studies.

Here are some examples of the courses you might take when pursuing a degree in experimental psychology:

• Adult psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Engineering psychology
• Human psychophysiology
• Comparative psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Abnormal psychology
• Organizational psychology
• Mathematical modeling of cognition
• Experimental design and statistics
• Research methods

You will also likely do research projects, seminars, fieldwork, internships, and a dissertation.

The minimum education requirement is usually a master's degree in general or experimental psychology. A doctorate-level degree in psychology is usually required to work at a university.

However, you do not have to get a degree in experimental psychology to work as an experimental psychologist. Doctorate programs in psychology also provide rigorous training in research design and experimental methods.

Applied  specialty areas in psychology, such as human factors psychology and industrial-organizational psychology, often have a strong research focus. Professionals working in these psychology fields can choose to make experimentation and research part of their careers.

Experimental psychologists work in a variety of settings, including colleges, universities, research centers, government, and private businesses.

Some professionals teach experimental methods to students, while others research cognitive processes, animal behavior, neuroscience, personality, and other topics in psychology. 

People who work in academic settings often teach  psychology courses  on top of researching and publishing their findings in professional journals.

Experimental psychologists can work with businesses to find new ways to help employees be productive or to create a safer workplace using the principles of industrial-organizational psychology  and  human factors psychology .

Here are a few examples of the research questions an experimental psychologist might work on answering:

• How does being under stress affect a person’s ability to make decisions?
• How does sleep deprivation affect work performance?
• Does listening to music affect memory?
• Can taking breaks from social media lower anxiety levels?
• Will turning off phone notifications one hour before bed lead to better sleep?
• Will giving employees achievement-based bonuses improve their productivity at work?
• Does practicing meditation before an exam reduce test anxiety in students?

In 2015, the American Psychological Association (APA) salary report showed that experimental psychology was one of the highest-earning psychology degrees. The average median salary for an experimental psychologist was $92,000 a year.

Salaries for experimental psychologists also depend on where they live and practice. For example, Salary.com says the median yearly pay for an experimental psychologist in the U.S. is around $103,000, but the higher end of the range is closer to $129,000 in some parts of the country.

According to the  Occupational Outlook Handbook  published by the U.S. Department of Labor, the  job outlook for psychologists  is projected to grow by 14% through the year 2028. People with a doctorate—especially in applied specialty or professional areas—are expected to have the greatest job prospects in the coming years

Is a Career in Experimental Psychology Right For You?

Experimental psychologists need to have an excellent understanding of psychology research methods as well as outstanding organization, communication, and writing skills.

Experimental psychology might be a good fit if you have the following qualities:

• Self-motivated and highly curious
• Like the challenge of finding new ways to solve complex problems
• Enjoy searching for answers to questions and coming up with new questions
• Fascinated by human and animal behavior
• Clear written and oral communicator
• Work well on your own and with others

If you get a job as an experimental psychologist, research won’t be the only thing you’ll do. You can expect to have other administrative tasks, such as obtaining funding for studies, maintaining accurate records, working with peers, and publishing and presenting your research findings.

If you’ll also be teaching, part of your job will be coming up with lesson plans, grading papers and exams, and advising and mentoring your students.

You can take this  quiz  to see if a career in experimental psychology might be right for you.

American Psychological Association. All about experimental psychology ..

The Princeton Review. Experimental psychology .

Oxford University Press. Experimental psychology courses .

The University of West Alabama. M aster of Science in experimental psychology .

The Ohio State Universty. Course requirements for experimental PhD in psychology.

The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Houston Baptist University. Course Syllabus PSYC 3410-01 - Experimental Psychology .

American Psychological Association. Salaries in psychology: Findings from the National Science Foundation’s 2015 National Survey of College Graduates .

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Psychologists: Job Outlook . Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Washington State University. Goals of the experimental psychology program .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Experimental Psychology

In subject area: Social Sciences

Experimental Psychology refers to the scientific study of human behavior and cognitive processes through controlled experiments. It aims to understand various aspects of perception, memory, abilities, intellectual performance, and social relations.

AI generated definition based on: Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology , 2004

Chapters and Articles

You might find these chapters and articles relevant to this topic.

A Brief Chronology of Mental Chronometry

Arthur R. Jensen , in Clocking the Mind , 2006

The Two Disciplines of Scientific Psychology

Psychology as a quantitative, experimental science began with mental chronometry, the empirical study of reaction time (RT). The history of this subject, beginning early in the nineteenth century, is virtually a microcosm of the development of what Lee J. Cronbach (1957) referred to in his famous presidential address to the American Psychological Association as the “two disciplines of scientific psychology” — differential and experimental. Differential psychology as a quantitative science began with a practical interest in the measurement of individual differences in RT. Experimental psychology , as a discipline distinct from physiology, began with the investigation of the effects of manipulating various external conditions on variation in the measurements of RT. Taken up earnestly in 1861 by Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) who founded the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, RT research became so prominent that the most famous historian of experimental psychology, Edwin G. Boring (1950) , wrote that “the late nineteenth century is properly known as the period of mental chronometry ” (p. 147 ). To appreciate its significance for psychology's aspiration to become a natural science, we must briefly review some earlier history in philosophy and physiology.

Experimental Laboratories: Biobehavioral

W. Schönpflug , in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences , 2001

1 Psychological Laboratories for Experiments with Single Humans

Psychological laboratories are equipped for two purposes. Firstly, for the recording of behavior and for the monitoring of mental and emotional states; secondly, for the systematic control of environmental and individual factors which influence and determine human mental and emotional states. Experiments are designed to relate measures of behavior and internal states as dependent variables to preceding or concomitant environmental and individual factors as independent variables. Typically, these kinds of experiments are conducted with individuals. The data from these samples are then accumulated over successive experimental sessions.

As one class of dependent variables, behavioral data primarily comprise speed and quality of performance in achievement tasks. The achievements tested include learning (e.g., reproduction of texts), perception (e.g., estimating distances), problem solving (e.g., finding the shortest route in a labyrinth), and sensorimotor actions (e.g., reacting to a light signal). Besides assessing performance, behavioral records also serve as indications for habitual or transient mental and emotional states (e.g., fatigue, positive affect, and surprise). An example is observations of facial expressions indicating emotional reactions. Moreover, behavioral records reflect stable personality traits (e.g., self-efficacy, anxiety, and withdrawal).

Another class of dependent variables are self-reports. Self-reports of participants express judgments and mental processes (e.g., logical reasoning), mental structures (e.g., impressions of paintings), and emotional states (e.g., optimism). A third class of dependent variables is psycho- and neurophysiological data. Measures of the autonomic nervous system (e.g., cardiovascular and gastrointestinal activity) and the endocrine system (e.g., adrenaline and cortisol secretion) serve as evidence for stable and transient states. More directly related to cognitive and sensorimotor processes are cerebral functions (e.g., event-related brain potentials).

Several unobtrusive methods exist for collecting experimental data. These include free protocols, video and voice recordings. However, most methods are obtrusive, for instance performance tests, which entail the operation of technical devices (e.g., reaction keys for measuring the speed of manual reactions). The obtrusive methods include various kinds of psycho- and neurophysiological recordings where participants are placed in or connected with special appliances ranging from blood pressure meters to magnetic resonance tomographs.

The instructions and tasks provided for the participants are the crucial aspects of the independent variables. These tasks may be tests of memory and learning, or of cognitive and motor skills. They may initiate logical judgments and actions, and may arouse emotions. Instructions not only serve to explain the requirements of the experimental tasks, but are also designed to affect the participants' motivation, attitudes, and moods. A plethora of devices exists for various experimental designs such as the presentation of visual or acoustic stimuli and for the control of environmental variations, which permit to study learning, movement, communication, and self-regulation. The appliances should guarantee precise and stable conditions over repeated trials. They also enable the scientist to control the variations in experimental conditions, such as the time of exposure to visual stimuli as measured in milliseconds.

The establishment of psychological laboratories for humans benefited from growing expertise in pertinent experimental techniques and the feasibility of exact measurements. Many experimental investigations depended on the progress made in precision mechanics. In the early stages of experimental psychology , most research laboratories employed a mechanical engineer. The advent of electronic elements also revolutionized experimentation, and has brought electronic engineers into the psychological laboratories. Increasing demands and standardization requirements permitted the commercial production of the devices used in psychological research. Thereafter, more and more technical research instruments were purchased and maintained by commercial companies, and the technical work force within the research laboratories diminished. This process continued when laboratory computers became available which could be adapted to various experimental purposes by specialized software.

For many decades, most psychological laboratories for humans were part of the university departments of psychology. Most of them were rather small, consisted of a few rooms, and were located alongside offices and classrooms. Some were insulated for sound or light protection to permit better control over sensory stimulation. Some were electrically shielded to enable electrophysiological data collection. Laboratories in psychological departments were rarely set up as central, permanent research units. Neither were they equipped for a variety of research tasks. Most of them served a specialized form of research (e.g., perception psychology). They were maintained by individual researchers and small work groups, and were often transferred to other purposes once a project or a contract was terminated. However, psychology departments had a policy of employing at least one experimentalist in their staff who raised funds and organized a laboratory for scientific research and academic training.

As brain research gained in recognition, special institutions of neuroscience with a high emphasis on medical and biological expertise have established laboratories for the study of human cognition and behavior. A similar increase in number and scientific impact has occurred in regard to research institutes devoted to cognitive science, computer science, and multimedia applications. The newer institutions operate on long-term projects, and are often sponsored by corporations rather than individuals. Consequently, they tend to outperform university departments of psychology in attracting funds for more spacious laboratories with costly equipment such as high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and high technology environments.

Categorization by Humans and Machines

Roman Taraban , in Psychology of Learning and Motivation , 1993

I Introduction

Theoretical and experimental work on concepts and categories is progressing quickly in a number of related disciplines, particularly in experimental psychology and within that area of computer science research dealing with machine learning. Admittedly, the goals of these two disciplines generally differ in basic ways, regardless of the topic. Machine learning models often set out to accomplish a practical engineering purpose, like evolving an expert system (see orca in Bareiss & Slator, this volume). Experimental psychology, on the other hand, is committed to revealing aspects of human cognition and behavior. Computer simulation models developed within this discipline typically test a set of ideas (a theory) that is meant to explain human performance. In spite of this apparent discrepancy between these disciplines, historically both have influenced each other in a positive way. Work in machine learning has produced as a by-product models or components of models that have been useful to cognitive/experimental psychology. Work in cognitive/experimental psychology has set problems (goals) for machine learning research and has suggested new approaches (as in the area of early vision and speech recognition). In this volume we seek the common ground—the issues and ideas—currently shared by both machine learning and experimental psychology on the topics of categories and concepts. Our purpose is to provide an informed presentation of timely issues and discoveries in both areas, to bring out the commonalities and differences in ongoing work, and to set the stage for further productive interaction between these disciplines.

Three topics play a central role in the book. The first two reflect recent developments that are likely to have a continuing impact on current and forthcoming work on concepts and categories in both psychology and machine learning: the development and testing of connectionist categorization models, and a growing interest in how two factors—background knowledge and exposure to instances—contribute to category learning and processing. The third topic has to do with more basic questions about the contents of concepts, conceptual combinations, and categories. In the next section, I provide a more detailed presentation of these topics. Following that, I point out some of the insights and challenges that emerge from these chapters and also note some promising directions for the future.

The evolution of decision rules in complex environments

The Modelling Animal Decisions Group: , ... John M. McNamara , in Trends in Cognitive Sciences , 2014

The power of simple experiments

Similarly, laboratory experiments place individuals in artificial situations that are far simpler than most situations encountered in the natural world. In many of the standard laboratory protocols routinely used in behavioural ecology and experimental psychology , subjects are trained and tested using a small number of behavioural options, with straightforward relationships between the available stimuli, the actions of the subject and the resulting consequences [24–27] . In these artificial situations the experimenter has created a deliberately simplified version of the types of problems the animal might encounter in its natural environment; the aim is to isolate the key variables needed to understand the behaviour. As with the simplified models discussed earlier, there is a risk that such laboratory settings may not reflect the statistical structure of the environment to which the animal is adapted, making it seem as though the animal is making errors [4] . However, if we recognise this problem, then deviations from rational behaviour in simplified laboratory set-ups can be illuminating because they may reveal unexpected biases that arise from rules adapted to the natural environment.

Mathematical Psychology: History

William H. Batchelder , in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition) , 2015

Mathematics and Psychology in the Nineteenth Century

Psychology achieved status as a separate academic field in the late nineteenth century after many experimental and theoretical developments. The transformation of psychology into a recognized university subject was due to research developments mostly in Germany and England. These developments led to quite different ways of using mathematics in psychological theory. In particular, the German approach emphasized the experimental method, where behavior is observed as a function of stimulus conditions manipulated by an experimenter. The primary goal of the experimental method is to develop theoretical laws of cognition that apply to all humans. On the other hand, the English approach emphasized how humans differ, and because these differences are due to both the genetic makeup and the environmental experiences of the individual, the experimental method is not of much use. Instead, the English approach involved developing and applying correlational methods to measure individual differences in psychological traits such as intelligence, attitudes, or personality traits. Cronbach (1957) has a nice discussion of the differences between the experimental and correlational approaches to psychological theory, and the next two sections discuss mathematical applications characteristic of these two approaches in the nineteenth century.

Mathematical Developments in German Psychology

In the case of Germany, most historians select Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) and the establishment of his experimental psychology laboratory at Leipzig, Germany in 1879 as the start of academic psychology in Germany (e.g., Hergenhahn, 2009 ). Before Wundt's laboratory was started, the German tradition was underway in the 1800s with major work in neural and sensory processes, psychophysics, attention, and choice response time. This work provided the main underpinnings of what was to become the field of experimental psychology. The early mathematical developments in German psychology were mostly in the areas of sensory processes and psychophysics, areas that enjoyed a connection to physiology and physics; however, mathematical developments in other more cognitive areas such as memory and choice reaction time occurred later in the century.

The area of psychophysics concerns the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations that they create. The groundwork for psychophysics was established by the physiologist, Ernst Weber (1795–1878), who created the first experimentally validated mathematical law of the mind. Based on extensive experimental studies across a wide range of stimulus modalities, Weber noted that the smallest detectable increase in the intensity of a physical stimulus depends on its magnitude. This work led him to formulate the famous Weber's law, namely that the additional physical intensity needed to perceive a noticeable increase in sensation is directly proportional to the physical intensity, that is:

where Δ I is the just noticeable increment in stimulus intensity I , and k is a constant that depends on the sensory modality. Now we know that Weber's law only holds strictly for a limited range of physical intensities, but the fact that it holds across a variety of modalities makes it an important theoretical milestone.

Gustav Fechner (1801–87), a physicist and mathematician, contributed many mathematical ideas in psychological theory connecting physical properties of stimuli to the sensations and perceptions they create. Much of this work was published in a two-volume work, Elemente der Psychophysik ( Elements of Psychophysics ). His most notable contribution was that he utilized Weber's law along with other mathematical assumptions to create his famous psychophysical law:

namely that the perceived magnitude of a sensation S is functionally related to the logarithm of the corresponding physical intensity I that produced it. Fechner's work led to the creation of a large research field of psychology known as psychophysics, and many additional mathematical developments in this area followed on his ground-breaking work ( see   Markov Decision Processes and Psychophysical Theory and Laws, History of for details on Weber's and Fechner's contributions).

Like Fechner, Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–94) was another physicist and mathematician who made major contributions to experimental psychology. Among his many accomplishments outside of physics was his development of the resonance theory of hearing and the Young–Helmholtz theory of color vision. Both of these theories were invested in explaining how the human perceiver could detect a huge range of sound frequencies or colors with many fewer types of neurons. Also very important was his experimental work discovering that the speed of neural conduction was about ten times slower than the speed of sound, and is therefore capable of measurement.

Capitalizing on Helmholtz's discovery about the measurable rate of neural conduction, Franciscus Cornelius Donders (1818–89) devised an experimental approach along with a mathematical model to measure the amount of time that the mind needs to carry out elementary operations like perceiving a simple stimulus, discriminating between two simple stimuli, and making a simple choice. His mathematical ideas led to the so-called subtraction method. The essence of this method involves setting up two experimental conditions involving speeded responses, where one task is identical to the other except that it involves an additional elementary mental act. Then Donders' logic is to subtract the response time it takes to perform the simpler task from the response time to perform the more complex task, and the difference is then inferred to be the time that the mind needs to perform the additional act. Although the accuracy of his early measurements was not great, he is credited with starting the area of mental chronometry, which is one of the main ways that experimental psychologists learn about mental information-processing architecture.

While most of the applications of mathematics in psychology in the German tradition were in the areas of sensation and perception, there were a few mathematical developments in the more cognitive areas of the mind as well. The most noted example was due to Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776–1841). Herbart developed an extensive mathematical system for understanding mental activity in terms of the interplay of combinations of ideas competing with each other to reach consciousness. The system was based on deterministic, mechanical laws, and at least some implications of his theory had the potential to be tested by experiment. Unfortunately, Herbart, who was a strong advocate of Kant's philosophy, interpreted Kant's writing about psychology as indicating that experimental psychology was impossible (see the previous section), and so unfortunately Herbart never tried to conduct experiments to test his theory (e.g., Boudewijnse et al., 1999 ).

Mathematical theories of mental activity that were connected to experimentation occurred much later in the nineteenth century. For example, Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909) was the first psychologist to conduct rigorous experimental studies of memory. Ebbinghaus conducted numerous serial list-learning experiments on himself that verified some of the philosophical theories of memory association that trace back to Aristotle. Among his mathematical formulations is his famous exponential decay curve for forgetting in long-term memory. In fact, Ebbinghaus attributed his reading of Fechner's Elemente der Psychophysik with the ideas that led him to formulate his forgetting curve. Just as Fechner showed that increases in physical stimulus intensity exhibit decreasing marginal returns on sensation, Ebbinghaus showed that increases in time since study exhibit decreasing amounts of marginal forgetting.

Mathematical Developments in English Psychology

The English tradition in psychology can be traced to the work of Charles Darwin (1809–82) and especially research that followed in the spirit of his work. Darwin's theory of evolution was grounded on several principles, not the least of which was the fact that individuals differ in their physical traits. It was the work of Darwin's cousin, Sir Francis Galton (1822–1911), that set the stage for the emergence of English psychology. Galton's psychological concerns were mostly centered on ways to measure individual differences in a variety of personality and cognitive traits. Galton's interests in individual differences led him to establish a laboratory in 1884 where he studied differences in both physical and psychological traits in over 9000 individuals. The mathematical developments that came out of the English approach to psychology all involved the development of statistical theory. In fact, Galton is perhaps the principle figure behind the fact that England became a center for the development of statistical theory in the century after his birth ( Stigler, 1986 ).

Galton was a pioneer in introducing the bivariate normal distribution to model the relationship between two measurable traits from the same individual. In this work, he introduced the concept of regression to the mean, which refers to the phenomenon that if an observation of a variable is extreme on its first measurement, then it is likely to be closer to the mean on its second measurement. Galton also laid the groundwork for the concept of the correlation coefficient as the measurement of the degree of statistical connection between two traits across a series of individuals. One impetus for this development was the so-called Galton's problem , which refers to the difficulty in drawing conclusions from cross-cultural measurements because they exhibit autocorrelation.

The final development of a measure of correlation was the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, due to the statistician and mathematician Karl Pearson (1857–1936), who was a protégé of Galton. At the population level, the correlation between two random variables, X and Y , representing two traits of an individual is given by:

where E ( ⋅ ) is the expectation operator and var ( X ) = E [ ( X − E ( X ) ] 2 .

The correlation coefficient at the level of a sample from a population became the central tool in the early studies of individual differences because of its many desirable properties such as its scale, −1 ≤  ρ ( X , Y ) ≤ 1, its role in providing best linear fits to scatter plots of individual trait variations, and the fact that ρ 2 is a measure of the variance in one trait ‘explained’ by the values of another trait.

Galton was quite interested in the nature of measurement error, an area of little interest except when regarded as a nuisance factor to experimental psychologists in the German tradition. He invented a model of measurement error known as Galton's box (quincunx) to illustrate the central limit theorem. Basically, the box is a physical device where a number of identical small balls can be dropped into a small hole at the top, and after falling down through a number of pins, they are collected into bins at the bottom of the box. Random error leads to an approximately normal distribution of the bin counts.

In 1873, Galton began an interest in the extinction of family names, and he proposed a stochastic branching process to examine this phenomenon. The process is defined by a sequence of random variables { X n | n  ≥ 0}, where X 0  ≡ 1, and X n is the population size of the n th generation. Galton sets up a recursion expressing X n in terms of the offspring of members of the population on the previous generation, namely:

where { Z j | j  ≥ 1} is a family of independent and identically distributed random variables each of which represents the number of male offspring of a married man. Soon thereafter Henry Watson (1827–1903) formalized the process and provided a solution to the probability that the population will eventually die out, and this process, known as the Galton–Watson branching process, has been employed in a number of applications in the social and biological sciences.

Of particular interest to Galton and others in the English tradition was the study of intelligence. Galton's early interest in intelligence led to a book in 1869, Heredity Genius , which attempted to study the distribution of genius in families. Galton's study of intelligence was thwarted by the lack of formal tests of intelligence; however, James McKeen Cattell (1860–1944), a research fellow under Galton, first began to develop measures of intelligence based on sensory acuity tests. By the end of the nineteenth century, Alfred Binet (1857–1911) and others had begun to develop tests of intelligence along with formal scoring procedures that were based more on cognitive than sensory abilities.

Observational Methods in Human Development Research

W. Deutsch , in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences , 2001

3 Conclusions

Nowadays modern studies in developmental psychology do not focus on single persons, but on psychical functions. Samples, whose individuality is a negligible quantity, are used to measure specific developmental changes. Individuals only become visible if their development is unusual, e.g., it does not progress at all, as in the case of a severe developmental disorder, or it progresses much faster or slower than average.

Since statistical measures have been introduced to developmental psychology, generalizations refer to central tendencies of samples which are supposed to be as representative as possible for a certain age group or particular time. Inductive generalizations, in which case by case one has to decide where similarities to all those that already have been examined end and differences between subgroups of individuals start, are no longer very common.

Today developmental psychology is characterized by a striving for ideal objectivity oriented according to experimental psychology . That is why extensive observations of individuals under natural circumstances have been pushed to the periphery. There they mainly survive as anecdotes which do not prove anything but—at the best—can be used as illustrations. Nevertheless exceptions exist, e.g., in the field of language development. Here the spontaneous use of language cannot be reduced to tests for language development and some standardized tests that claim to be paradigms. Other areas in developmental psychology are dominated by paradigms in which almost no spontaneous data from a single being is recorded and documented.

Artificial standardizations have to meet the scientific ideal of objectivity that is oriented according to reproductivity and generalization. The value of a scientific study is not measured by its ecological validity but by its objective and reliable realization based on a representative sample of subjects. Perhaps the future of observational methods does neither belong to natural observations, nor to artificial paradigms, but to natural paradigms in which everyday life and research are no longer opponents but partners.

Sean B. Eom , in Encyclopedia of Information Systems , 2003

Study of the biological under-pinings of behavior to determine how the nervous system, hormones, genes, and other biological entities and processes interact with behavior.

Study of the assessment and treatment of psychological problems.

Study of the human mind and is concerned with adult's normal, typical cognitive activities of knowing/perceiving/learning.

Study of changes in behavior and behavioral potential over the life span of an individual or group.

The design, development, and evaluation of materials and procedures for education.

Study of a restricted set of problems, such as learning, sensation, and perception, human performance, motivation, emotion, language, thinking, and communication.

Applying psychology to law and legal proceedings (i.e., evaluating incoming prisoners, selecting a jury, providing testimony as expert witnesses, etc.).

Study of work-related behavior in industrial organization.

The diagnosis of brain disorders and the design of rehabilitation programs that help patients recover after various types of brain disorders.

Applies psychological theories to facilitate patients' recovery from various physical injuries.

Study of people interacting, their behavior in a group, and the causes, types, and consequences of human interaction.

Literacies and Languages

Brian L. Cambourne , Debra K. Crouch , in International Encyclopedia of Education(Fourth Edition) , 2023

The psychological experimentation model

The varied psychological and linguistic perspectives that have been applied to reading and writing have existed in silos. The factor that unites many of these disparate theories is their reliance on psychological definitions of learning and psychological interpretations.

What do these psychological connections mean and why does it matter?

In psychological parlance, learning was seen as a “change in behavior” caused by external environmental factors occurring just before any such changes ( Lund, 1927 ). This definition influenced the dominant culture of both psychological and educational research. This culture of both domains was characterized by an emphasis on controlling and testing effects of external factors such as type of motivation, duration of exposure to different external factors, or sequencing of the presentation of material to be learned. This view of learning condoned, promoted, and emphasized establishing cause-effect relationships between whatever factors were being tested.

Why is that problematic? In its earliest manifestations, psychology struggled with its place among the established sciences, including physics, chemistry, and biology. This struggle was caused by ignoring the process through which the hard sciences became credible and trustworthy. That process begins with naturalistic observation to identify and document how phenomena exist and behave in their natural environment. Mini-theories are proposed to explain observations that emerge ( Kuhn, 1962 ; Popper, 1972 ; Lakatos and Feyerabend, 1999 ). These mini-theories are then tested in controlled experiments. If a mini-theory doesn't hold up to scrutiny, it is discarded. Over time, a convergence toward an explanatory, overarching theory occurs that represents the best current thinking but will continue to be tested and evolve. For example, the periodic table in chemistry derived from observations to determine what the basic elements were and how to systematize them. Scientists throughout history engaged in rigorous debate as they proposed, tested, and accepted or rejected ideas and theories. They sought to find patterns to establish consistency, eventually arriving at a widely accepted consensus of understanding. Early psychologists leapfrogged this historical, observational stage. They proceeded directly into experimental design and hypothesis testing without first identifying and describing the way the phenomena they were seeking to understand occurs in an experimenter-free environment ( Heft, 2001 ).

Ultimately, psychology—in its early development as a field of scientific study—didn't strive to identify and apply their own set of overarching concepts as other scientific domains had. The abundance of extant (often conflicting) learning theories ( Culatta and Kearsley, 2021 ) that have continually emerged from experimental psychology are a result of this leapfrogging. Such a lengthy list of competing theories provides a mute but powerful testament that something is seriously wrong with the way psychology (and therefore education) has conceptualized and researched learning over the last one hundred and twenty or so years.

As American psychologist Harry Heft writes: “Has there been a moment since its formal founding in the late 19th century when experimental psychology was not in a state of theoretical conflict? Select any historical point during its first 120 years and you will find psychologists embroiled in some theoretical squabble” ( Heft, 2001 ). A closer look at the history of psychology shows that a majority of these theoretical squabbles are either directly or indirectly related to the umbrella concept of learning. If that basic overarching concept is so conflicted within education's chosen theoretical partner, no wonder the derived theories of learning (including learning to read and write) are also in conflict.

If fact, Canadian psychologist Frank Smith claimed in an essay that “education backed the wrong horse when it backed psychology”; he argued that “psychology has never been comfortable with learning” ( Smith, 1983 ). Psychological experiments at the time of Smith's assertion emphasized the learning and forgetting of 3-letter nonsense syllables rather than assessing learning as a meaning-making process. The belief was that because the nonsense syllables were unknown to the test subjects, the test results could be attributed solely to the variables being tested. Learning to read with meaning and the variables that influence meaning-making were considered to be uncontrollable factors; as such, they were eliminated from the experimental design. Although Smith stated the obvious by signaling these types of experiments were not about learning, they nevertheless informed pedagogy.

Stevens, Stanley Smith (1906–73)

Robert Teghtsoonian , in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition) , 2015

Impact on Experimental Psychology

Two additional characteristics of his work deserve mention. While the majority of his contemporaries were engaged in a search for relevant variables (e.g., does ‘meaningfulness’ affect ease of remembering?), Stevens's goal was the discovery of functional relations, mathematical descriptions of the association of one factor with another, as epitomized by his psychophysical power law. A corollary of this belief was an attitude toward sampling theory and statistical testing that ranged from indifference to disdain. The object for him was not to see whether 80   dB tones received an average loudness judgment greater than did 60   dB tones (at the 5% level of significance), the equivalent of what most of his contemporaries were doing. What was important to Stevens was whether a lawful relation could be seen when data were plotted in a thoughtful way. Large numbers of experimental subjects were not needed to reveal the kind of robust relations he sought; a few colleagues or students recruited in the hallways were enough for most of his purposes.

A landmark publication for research psychologists in the 1950s was the Handbook of Experimental Psychology edited by Stevens (1951) . It was, as he described it in the preface, “a technical survey that would systematize, digest, and appraise the mid-century state of experimental psychology.” It was not the first of its kind, but it was the most recent, and thus defined for teachers and students alike the set of shared interests that constituted experimental psychology. It was a time still when one might be expert in one aspect of the field and fairly knowledgeable about many others. Since then the amount of knowledge in psychology has grown at an explosive rate, and now the achievement of competence in one area increasingly restricts knowledge of any other. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the tent of ‘experimental psychology’ has few remaining occupants; there are instead cognitive scientists, brain researchers, vision scientists, and a host of others in specialized niches. Just as Stevens's mentor E.G. Boring may have been among the last to teach an all-inclusive account of psychology in a single course, so Stevens may have been among the last to view the phrase ‘experimental psychology’ as a useful rubric.

Dr. James T. Townsend , in Systems Factorial Technology , 2017

From the very beginning, however, my colleagues, students, and I devoted considerable effort to discovering more powerful methods (see, e.g., Townsend, 1972, 1976b; Snodgrass, 1980; Townsend & Ashby, 1983; Townsend & Wenger, 2004). Now, there exist a sizable number of experimental methodologies qualified to accomplish parallel–serial testability (and related issues). Most of these are presented in a number of reviews over the past decade or so, including some quite up to date accounts in the Oxford Handbook of Computational and Mathematical Psychology (Chapter 3, Algom, Eidels, Hawkins, Jefferson & Townsend, 2015) and in the upcoming The Stevens' Handbook of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience , Fourth Edition (Chapter by Townsend, Wenger & Houpt).

Related terms:

• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Psychophysics
• Working Memory
• Social Sciences
• Individual Differences
• Artificial Intelligence
• Neuroscience
• Occupational Career

Experimental Method In Psychology

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

The experimental method involves the manipulation of variables to establish cause-and-effect relationships. The key features are controlled methods and the random allocation of participants into controlled and experimental groups .

What is an Experiment?

An experiment is an investigation in which a hypothesis is scientifically tested. An independent variable (the cause) is manipulated in an experiment, and the dependent variable (the effect) is measured; any extraneous variables are controlled.

An advantage is that experiments should be objective. The researcher’s views and opinions should not affect a study’s results. This is good as it makes the data more valid  and less biased.

There are three types of experiments you need to know:

1. Lab Experiment

A laboratory experiment in psychology is a research method in which the experimenter manipulates one or more independent variables and measures the effects on the dependent variable under controlled conditions.

A laboratory experiment is conducted under highly controlled conditions (not necessarily a laboratory) where accurate measurements are possible.

The researcher uses a standardized procedure to determine where the experiment will take place, at what time, with which participants, and in what circumstances.

Participants are randomly allocated to each independent variable group.

Examples are Milgram’s experiment on obedience and  Loftus and Palmer’s car crash study .

• Strength : It is easier to replicate (i.e., copy) a laboratory experiment. This is because a standardized procedure is used.
• Strength : They allow for precise control of extraneous and independent variables. This allows a cause-and-effect relationship to be established.
• Limitation : The artificiality of the setting may produce unnatural behavior that does not reflect real life, i.e., low ecological validity. This means it would not be possible to generalize the findings to a real-life setting.
• Limitation : Demand characteristics or experimenter effects may bias the results and become confounding variables .

2. Field Experiment

A field experiment is a research method in psychology that takes place in a natural, real-world setting. It is similar to a laboratory experiment in that the experimenter manipulates one or more independent variables and measures the effects on the dependent variable.

However, in a field experiment, the participants are unaware they are being studied, and the experimenter has less control over the extraneous variables .

Field experiments are often used to study social phenomena, such as altruism, obedience, and persuasion. They are also used to test the effectiveness of interventions in real-world settings, such as educational programs and public health campaigns.

An example is Holfing’s hospital study on obedience .

• Strength : behavior in a field experiment is more likely to reflect real life because of its natural setting, i.e., higher ecological validity than a lab experiment.
• Strength : Demand characteristics are less likely to affect the results, as participants may not know they are being studied. This occurs when the study is covert.
• Limitation : There is less control over extraneous variables that might bias the results. This makes it difficult for another researcher to replicate the study in exactly the same way.

3. Natural Experiment

A natural experiment in psychology is a research method in which the experimenter observes the effects of a naturally occurring event or situation on the dependent variable without manipulating any variables.

Natural experiments are conducted in the day (i.e., real life) environment of the participants, but here, the experimenter has no control over the independent variable as it occurs naturally in real life.

Natural experiments are often used to study psychological phenomena that would be difficult or unethical to study in a laboratory setting, such as the effects of natural disasters, policy changes, or social movements.

For example, Hodges and Tizard’s attachment research (1989) compared the long-term development of children who have been adopted, fostered, or returned to their mothers with a control group of children who had spent all their lives in their biological families.

Here is a fictional example of a natural experiment in psychology:

Researchers might compare academic achievement rates among students born before and after a major policy change that increased funding for education.

In this case, the independent variable is the timing of the policy change, and the dependent variable is academic achievement. The researchers would not be able to manipulate the independent variable, but they could observe its effects on the dependent variable.

• Strength : behavior in a natural experiment is more likely to reflect real life because of its natural setting, i.e., very high ecological validity.
• Strength : Demand characteristics are less likely to affect the results, as participants may not know they are being studied.
• Strength : It can be used in situations in which it would be ethically unacceptable to manipulate the independent variable, e.g., researching stress .
• Limitation : They may be more expensive and time-consuming than lab experiments.
• Limitation : There is no control over extraneous variables that might bias the results. This makes it difficult for another researcher to replicate the study in exactly the same way.

Key Terminology

Ecological validity.

The degree to which an investigation represents real-life experiences.

Experimenter effects

These are the ways that the experimenter can accidentally influence the participant through their appearance or behavior.

Demand characteristics

The clues in an experiment lead the participants to think they know what the researcher is looking for (e.g., the experimenter’s body language).

Independent variable (IV)

The variable the experimenter manipulates (i.e., changes) is assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable.

Dependent variable (DV)

Variable the experimenter measures. This is the outcome (i.e., the result) of a study.

Extraneous variables (EV)

All variables which are not independent variables but could affect the results (DV) of the experiment. EVs should be controlled where possible.

Confounding variables

Variable(s) that have affected the results (DV), apart from the IV. A confounding variable could be an extraneous variable that has not been controlled.

Random Allocation

Randomly allocating participants to independent variable conditions means that all participants should have an equal chance of participating in each condition.

The principle of random allocation is to avoid bias in how the experiment is carried out and limit the effects of participant variables.

Order effects

Changes in participants’ performance due to their repeating the same or similar test more than once. Examples of order effects include:

(i) practice effect: an improvement in performance on a task due to repetition, for example, because of familiarity with the task;

(ii) fatigue effect: a decrease in performance of a task due to repetition, for example, because of boredom or tiredness.

Pursuing a Career in Experimental Psychology

All About Experimental Psychology

Why do we behave in certain ways? What influences our behavior? How can our behavior shape our experiences throughout our lives? 

These are just a few examples of the types of questions that experimental psychologists seek to answer through basic and applied research. In a sense, all psychologists are experimental psychologists because of the discipline’s focus on a research base for all their work. However, experimental psychologists often devote their full-time professional lives to conducting and publishing research — often spending years on a specific research question. These psychologists have a passion for solving problems and exploring theoretical questions. They study a wide range of behavioral topics among humans and animals, including sensation, perception, attention, memory, cognition, emotion and more.

What You Can Do

Experimental psychologists use scientific methods to collect data and perform research. They can work in varied settings, including universities, research centers, the government and private businesses. The exact type of research an experimental psychologist performs may depend on a number of factors, including his or her educational background, interests and area of employment. Often, psychologists with training in experimental psychology contribute across subfields , using scientific research to provide insights that improve teaching and learning, create safer workplaces, and promote healthy child development, to list a few examples. 

Those who work in academia often teach psychology courses in addition to performing research and publishing their findings in psychological journals.

Making It Happen

A career as an experimental psychologist starts out with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Math skills and a strong grounding in how to collect and analyze data are critical to becoming an experimental psychologist. 

Some people choose to work in a lab or on other research teams after earning their master’s degree. After a few years of first-hand experience, many return to school to earn a doctoral degree. 

In addition, specialty areas such as human factors psychology and industrial and organizational (IO) psychology often have a very strong research focus, and professionals who work in these areas often make experimentation and research the major focus of their careers.

What You Can Earn

According to APA’s 2009 salary survey , annual salaries for doctoral-level experimental psychologists ranged from $76,090 to $116,343 depending on the psychologist’s position. The survey captured salary data for experimental psychologists working in faculty positions, research positions, research administration and applied psychology.

Helpful Resources

Division 3: Society for Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science Members of APA’s Division 3 promote scientific inquiry through teaching and research, and support experimental psychology through the advocacy and educational programs.

Research in Psychology Explore the ins and outs of psychology research with information about research tools and methods, research ethics, publishing and funding.

Division 21: Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology Division 21 is at the intersection of psychology and technology. Applied experimental and engineering psychology aims at developing human-centered approaches to the design of myriad objects, machines and systems. It is a growing field with immense potential for rewarding career opportunities.

What is Experimental Psychology?

The Four Canons of Science

Dependent and independent variables, operational definitions.

The operational definition is a way to define abstract ideas to make it observable and measurable. Going back to the study between emotions and memory, which are two very abstract ideas, researchers will need to provide operational definitions to measure the happiness of a person, as well as the strength of his or her memory. As an example, researchers can define happiness through a survey that is filled out by participants to gauge their current state; memory, on the other hand, can be tested by asking participants to recall the order of photos that will be shown to them later on.

Validity and Reliability

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