Definition
Experimentalpsychologycanbedividedintobroadandnarrowsense.Inabroadsense,experimentalpsychologyisapsychologicalsystemrelativetothehumanisticorientation,alsocalledscientificpsychology.Inanarrowsense,experimentalpsychologyisasciencethatstudiesthebasictheoriesandbasictechniquesofpsychologicalexperimentsandintroducesexperimentalresearchresultsinvariousbranchesofpsychology.
Developmenthistory
Philosophicalspeculationstage
Beforethe19thcentury,mostoftheproblemsofpsychologywerediscussedinthefieldofphilosophy,usingspeculationandempiricalgeneralizationMethods.Atthattime,therewasabeliefthatexperimentalmethodswerenotapplicabletothestudyofpsychologicalphenomena.AftertheRenaissance,thematerialistphilosophicaltrendandthedevelopmentofnaturalsciencethatappearedinEuropegavebirthtothebirthofexperimentalpsychologyattheendofthe19thcentury.
TheformeristhematerialistempiricisminitiatedbyLocke,Hartley’sassociationismandthemechanicalmaterialismofLametrietal.;thelatteristhephysiologicalresearchonnerveconductionandthepositioningofbrainfunction.Thecontroversyandtheestablishmentofthetheoryofspecialnerveenergy,thetheoryofevolutioninbiology,theatomtheoryinchemistry,andtheestablishmentofvariouslaboratoriesinuniversities.
Experimentalapplicationstage
Althoughin1834Webermadethedeterminationofthetwo-pointthresholdandtheweightdifferencethreshold,in1860Fechnerproposedinthe"OutlineofPsychophysics"Theuniqueresearchmethodofpsychology—psychophysicalmethod.In1875,JamesestablishedapsychologylaboratoryfordemonstrationatHarvardUniversityintheUnitedStates.However,becauseWundtorganizedandadvocatedtheuseofexperimentalmethodstostudypsychology,soPeoplestillregardhimasthefirstresearchpsychologylaboratoryestablishedattheUniversityofLeipziginGermanyin1879,aspsychologydifferentiatedfromphilosophyandbecameasymbolofanindependentdiscipline,andWundtiscalledthefounderofexperimentalpsychology.
WundtandhisstudentTichennerbelievethatpsychologyshouldstudythedirectexperienceofpeople,andwhatpsychologyshouldseekishowtodecomposeconsciousnessintothesimplestandmostbasicelements.Inordertoachievethisgoal,theirpsychologicalexperimentistouseintrospectionundercontrolledconditionstoanalyzethecontentofconsciousnessintopsychologicalelementsbasedondirectexperience.
Theyadvocatethatapersoncanonlybeasubjectafterrigoroustraining.Whatthesubjectswantedtodescribewasthestateofconsciousnesscausedbythestimulusratherthanthestimulusitself,otherwiseitwouldbea"stimuluserror".Theybelievethatallfeelingshavethefollowingbasiccharacteristics:quality,intensity,extensibility,continuity,andclarity.Inordertoensureclearexperienceandaccuratereports,experimentsmustbecarriedout,becauseexperimentsarenotonlycarriedoutundercontrolledconditions,butcanalsoberepeated.Themoretheexperimentisrepeated,theclearertheexperienceandthemoreaccuratethedescriptionoftheexperience.
Butwhenthementalprocessisgoingon,tryingtoreportchangesinconsciousnesswillinterferewiththestateofconsciousnessatthetime.Inordertoovercomethisdifficultyofintrospection,themethodofrecallisoftenused.Onlythesubjectswhohavedevelopedthehabitofintrospectioncanmemorizeormakenoteswhileobservingwithoutdisturbinghisconsciousness.Wundtalsobelievesthatexperimentalmethodsareonlysuitableforstudyingbasicpsychologicalprocesses,suchasfeelingsandassociations.Forhigh-levelpsychologicalprocesses,suchasmemory,thinking,socialpsychology,andpersonality,theycanonlybeexploredbyobservationorbystudyingthehistoryofhumannature,forwhichhewrote"NationalPsychology".
Developmentofexperimentalpsychology
Wundt
AlthoughexperimentalpsychologystartedinGermany,GermanpsychologicalexperimentsarenotIt'salldoneinWundt'sway.AfterWundtpointedoutthatadvancedmentalprocessescannotbestudiedexperimentally,Ebbinghausfirststudiedlearningandmemoryproblemswithexperimentalmethods.Hecreatedmeaninglesssyllables,usedmeaninglesssyllablesasexperimentalmaterials,andusedthemethodofsavingtochecktheamountofstorageatdifferentintervalsaftermemorization.Thisnotonlyexpandedtheresearchscopeofexperimentalpsychology,butalsochangedWundt'straditionalpsychologicalexperimentmethodofanalyzingthecontentofconsciousness.Inaddition,Wundt’sstudentKülpwasinspiredbyEbbinghaus’sexperimentalmethodofstudyingmemory,sohebelievedthatthethoughtprocesscouldalsobestudiedexperimentally.Buthedidnotgetridofthemethodofintrospection,buthismethodofintrospectionwasdifferentfromWundt's.Heaskedthesubjectstocompleteataskfirst,andthenreviewtheexperiencegainedduringthecompletionofthetask.Participantsdidn'tknowwhattoobserveinadvance,onlyknewthattheyhadtoworkhardtocompletetheassignedtasks.Forexample,lettheparticipantsolveaproblem,andthenlethimstatehowtothinkstepbystepandhowtosolvetheproblem.Throughexperiments,hefoundthatnotallexperienceiscomposedofsensoryimages.Thinkingcanoccurwithoutanysensoryorimagecontent,thusestablishingtheWürzburgschoolofnon-imagethinking.
ThunderkandPavlov
InDarwin’s"ManandAnimalAfterthepublicationof"ExpressionofLove",althoughRomanesandMorganbothconductedresearchonanimalpsychology,mostoftheirobservationswereconductedundernaturalconditions.ItwasonlyinThorndikethatthestudyofanimallearningwascarriedoutunderstrictlycontrolledconditions.Thorndikecreatedtheexperimentalmethodofconnectionism.
Hisearlyexperimentswereconductedwithpuzzleboxes,andthesubjectswerecats.Heputthehungrycatinaslattedpuzzlebox,andputthefoodoutsidethepuzzleboxwherethecatcouldseeandsmell.Inordertoopenthedoorofthepuzzleboxtoeatfood,thecatmustpulltheappropriatelatch.Atthebeginning,thecattouchedandscratched,untilhehappenedtomaketherightresponseandopenedthedoortoeatthefood.Aftermanyattempts,thewrongresponsegraduallydecreased,andthetimerequiredtoopenthedoorgraduallyshortened,untilthecatwasputintothepuzzleboxandthecorrectresponsewasimmediatelymade,andthelearningwascompleted.ThislearningprocessthatconnectsreactionsandsituationsisThorndike’slawofeffect,whichThorndikecalls"trialandaccidentalsuccessfullearning",andissometimescalled"trialanderror"learninginpsychologybooks.
Pavlov’sexperimentalmethodofconditioningandThorndike’sexperimentalmethodoftrial-and-errorlearningwereestablishedalmostsimultaneously.Atypicalconditionedreflexexperimentistocombineastimulus(suchaslight)thathasnothingtodowithcausingacertainreaction(suchassalivation)withastimulus(suchasfood)thatcancausetheresponse.Iftheanimalsecretessalivaatthesightofthelight,thenTheconditionedreflexisformed.
ThunderkandPavlovbothdevelopedexperimentalmethodsaboutanimallearning,andtheybothlinkedspecificsituationswithspecificreactions.ThedifferenceisthatinPavlov’sexperiment,thesceneassociatedwithacertainreactionwaspresentedbythesubject,whilethesceneintheThorndikeexperimentwasdiscoveredbyaccident.Theformercanbesaidtobetheclassicalconditioningmethod,whilethelatteristhepioneerofthetooloroperatingconditioningmethod.Inthepast,itwasbelievedthatclassicalconditioningwaslimitedtothestudyofreflexresponsescontrolledbytheautonomicnervoussystem,whileinstrumentalconditioningonlystudiedtherandomresponsesassociatedwithskeletalmuscles.However,throughfeedback,Millerandotherssuccessfullytrainedthesubjectstocontroltheirownheartrate,intestinalcontractionandrelaxation,andtherhythmofbrainelectricity,andsoon.
Watson
Watsonbelievesthatpsychologyisabranchofnaturalscience;whatpsychologystudiesisnotconsciousness,butthebehaviorofhumansandanimals;Thepurposeofstudyingpsychologyistopredictbehavior,findouttherulesofbehaviorandcontrolbehavior.Whathestudiesinthelaboratoryissomethingthatcanbeobjectivelyobserved.Hedoesnotrequirehumansubjectstoobservetheirownconsciousexperience.Instead,thetestersetstheexperimentalconditionsandobservesthesubjects'responsesundertheseconditions.Hedenieshumaninstinctandbelievesthatallactionsareconditionedresponsesformedinsociety.Therefore,theconditionedreflexmethodhasbecomethemostimportantmethodforhimtoconductpsychologicalexperiments.
Thetraditionalviewholdsthatthethinkingprocessthatoccursinthemindisdifficulttoobserveandexperiment.Watsonseesthinkingasinternalspeechmovement,andobservesthethinkingprocessbyrecordingthemovementofthethroatandtongueofnormalpeopleandthemovementofhandsandfingersofdeaf-mutepeople.Althoughheopposesintrospection,hedoesnotabandonverbalreports,thinkingthatthisisalsoanobjectivebehavior.Inshort,hisexperimentalmethodistoobservetheresponsesofsubjectsundercontrolledconditionsandattempttodecomposecomplexbehaviorsinto"stimulus-response"units.Atthispoint,hehasnotgotridofthestereotypesofconstructivistelementalism.
Wertheimer
Wertheimeretal.proposedthatperceptionisnotthesumofsensoryelementsbutAunifiedoverallview.ThisisthecoreofGestaltpsychology.Theconceptofgestaltisnotonlyappliedtosensoryexperience,butcanalsobeappliedtoprocessessuchaslearning,memory,andthinking.Inshort,thewholeisnotdeterminedbyindividualelements,butthepartisdeterminedbytheinherentnatureofthewhole.Forexample,atunecomposedofsixtones,undercertainconditions,canberecognizedasthistunebychangingtheothersixtones.Inotherwords,werecognizethebasisofthattune,thereismorethanthesumofthesixtones,andthatistherelationshipbetweenthetones.Aslongasthisrelationshipremainsthesame,theoriginaltunecanberecognized.Forthisreason,theexperimentalmethodoftheGestaltschoolistotrytodiscoverthestructuralprinciplesofperceptionunderthecircumstancessetbythesubject.
Experimentalmethods
Psychologymainlystudieshumanbehaviorindifferentsituations.Usually,humanparticipantsarerequiredtodocertaintasksinexperiments.Since1990,theapplicationofvariouscomputersoftwarehaschangedthepresentationofexperimentsandreducedexperimentalerrors.Inadditiontomeasuringthereactiontimeanderrorrate,theexperimentcanalsouseinvestigationandobservationmethodsbefore,during,andaftertheexperiment.
LaboratoryExperiments
Laboratoryexperimentsarecontrolledobservationsinthepsychologicallaboratoryusinginstrumentsandequipment.Itcanprovideaccurateexperimentalresultsandisoftenusedinthestudyofperception,memory,thinking,movementandphysiologicalmechanisms.
Humanbehaviorandconsciousnessareextremelycomplicated.Togetthecorrectresults,youmustchooseanappropriateexperimentaldesign.
Intheexperiment,itisnecessarytocontroltheadditionalvariables,reducetheexperimenter'sbias,balancetheexperimentsequence,selecttheappropriatesample,determinetheappropriateoperationdefinition,andselecttheappropriatestatisticalanalysismethod(veryimportant).
Othermethods
Inadditiontolaboratoryexperiments,therearecasemethod,observationmethod,interviewmethod,investigationmethod,andnaturalexperimentmethod.
Psychologyisahighlyempiricalscience.Thecharacteristicsandlawsofthesubjects’psychologycanonlybeanalyzedandsynthesizedfromthecollectedactualmaterials,andcannotbeusedforgrantedbytheresearcher.Therefore,everyonewhostudiespsychologymustlearntouseresearchmethodscorrectly.Psychologicalphenomenaarecomplicated.Whichmethodtousedependsontheresearchobject,researchconditions,andresearchpurpose.Sometimesittakesseveralmethodstocollectvariousdata.
Variousresearchmethodsofpsychologyaredirectmeansofcollectingperceptualmaterials,withthepurposeofanalyzingandinducingregularthingsfromthem.Therefore,everypersonwhostudiespsychologymustalsousematerialistdialecticstomakeacomprehensive,profound,andinterconnectedrationalanalysisofperceptualmaterialstopreventone-sided,isolated,andstaticstudyofpsychologicalphenomena.
Statistics
TheapplicationofstatisticalmethodsinpsychologybeganwithGalton'sresearchonindividualdifferences.Later,Thurstonandothersdevelopedfactoranalysis.Butstatisticalmethodshavealwaysbeenlinkedtopsychologicaltests.Psychologicaltestsbasicallybelongtothecategoryofnaturalexperiments,whicharedifferentfromthenarrowexperimentalmethodsdiscussedhere.TheapplicationofstatisticalmethodstothedesignofpsychologicalexperimentsisinseparablefromFisher'swork.Fisherdevelopedthemethodofanalysisofvarianceandtheuseofsmallsamples,andproposedtheconceptofnullhypothesisandinferentialstatistics.
Hismethodwasfirstappliedtotheexperimentaldesignofbiologyandagriculture,andthenitwasextendedtothedesignofpsychologicalexperiments.Sincethen,theclassicaldesignmethodofcontrollingotherfactorstochangeonlyoneindependentvariableinpsychologicalexperimentshasbeenadvancedonestepforward,andthemulti-factordesignmethodofchangingseveralindependentvariablesatthesametimehasbeenapplied,andinformationontheinteractionbetweenvariousfactorscanbeobtained..
Withthedevelopmentofelectronicsandengineeringtechnology,theexperimentaldevicesandmeasuringinstrumentsofpsychologyhavebecomemoreandmoresophisticated,sothattheobjectivityandaccuracyofpsychologicalexperimentalresearchhavebeenimproved,andgraduallygetridofTheinfluenceandconstraintsofdifferentpsychologicalschoolsonexperimentalmethodsarediscussed.Throughcooperationwithengineering,experimentalpsychologyisappliedtothehuman-machinesystem,sothatthedesignedmachinecanbemoreinlinewiththestructureandfunctionofthehumanbody,therebyreducinglaborintensityandimprovingworkefficiency.
Becauseofthefurtherapplicationofmathematicstopsychology,aftermakingquantitativeassumptionsabouthumanbehaviorthroughexperiments,mathematicalmodelscanbemade,suchasmathematicalmodelsthatpredictlearningbasedonprobabilitytheory,andexperimentsonbackwardchildrenThemathematicaltheoryofattentiondevelopedbytheresearchinstitute,etc.
Thedevelopmentofcyberneticsandthewidespreaduseofcomputershavenotonlyenabledthedataofpsychologicalexperimentstobeprocessedinashortperiodoftime,butalsoprovidedconveniencefortheautomaticcontrolofthepresentationofstimuliandtherecordingofresponses,whichisusefulforsimulatingcomplexPsychologicalprocessopenedupnewways,andthendevelopedbehavioralinformationprocessingtheoryandcognitivepsychology,andgavenewexplanationstolearningandmemory.
Today,withthedevelopmentofpsychology,theissueofdebateisnolongerwhethertheexperimentalmethodisapplicabletotheresearchofpsychology,buthowtomaketheexperimentalmethodofpsychologymoreperfect,howtousethefindingsinthelaboratoryPsychologicallawstosolvepracticalproblems.
Advantages
Advantages
Advantagesofexperimentalpsychology:Themainadvantageisthatitcanbettercontroladditionalvariables.Anotheradvantageiseconomy.
Features
Threecharacteristicsoftheexperiment:randomness,repeatability(orverifiability),andsystematiccontrol.
Variable
Self-variation
Definition:Thevariablemanipulatedbytheexperimenterintheexperimentthataffectstheparticipant’sresponse.(Variablesselectedandcontrolledbythesubjectdeterminethechangesinpsychologyorbehavior.
Forexample,thebrightnessofthelight,theloudnessofthesound,thetemperatureoftheroom,theamountoffoodtheanimaleats,
Forexample,whenstudyingthereaction,youwanttounderstandtheimpactofthesoundstrengthonthereactiontime.Thenthesoundstrengthbecomestheindependentvariable.
Type:Assignmentindependentvariable:Environmentalindependentvariable,subjectfromVariables,relatedvariables,independentvariables.
Dependentvariable
Definition:Thephenomenonchangeorresultcausedbythechangeoftheindependentvariable.Thedependentvariableisthesubject’sresponsevariable,whichisindependentTheresultofthevariableisthebehavioralvariableobservedormeasuredbythesubject.
Onecriterionofthedependentvariableisstability.
Sensitivity:ceilingeffect,flooreffect.
>Type
Responseindexasadependentvariable:reactionspeed,correctnessofreaction,difficultyofreaction,numberorprobabilityofreaction,intensityofreaction,oralrecord.
Extra
Definition:Extravariablesarealsocalledirrelevantvariables,whichrefertovariablesthathavenothingtodowiththepurposeoftheresearch.
Inadditiontoindependentvariables,theycanaffecttheexperimentAsaresult,variablesthatneedtobecontrolled.Ithasnothingtodowiththeconditionsandbehaviorsstudied,butaffectstheresponsevariables(behaviororexperimentalresults)
Forexample,itisnecessarytostudythedifferenceinacademicperformanceofmaleandfemalestudentsinthesamecourse
Independentvariable:gender
Dependentvariable:academicperformance
Additionalvariables:suchasage,grade,intelligencelevel,originalfoundation,teacher
>Othervariables:suchasheight,weight,clothing,hairstyle,etc.donotneedtobeconsidered
Newdevelopment
Theecologicalizationofresearchideas
WiththeresearchThedeepeningofhumanandsocialneedsarebecomingmoreandmoreurgent.Laboratoryresearchhasincreasinglyrevealedthelimitationsofitsinherentmodel.Psychologicalresearchhasemergedanecologicaltrend,thatis,emphasizingthestudyofindividualsandnatureandsocietyfromreallifeandnaturalsituations.Theinteractionofvariousfactorsintheenvironmentrevealsthelawsofpsychologicaldevelopmentandchange.Thisresearchapproachmakespsychologicalresearchmoreobjective,trueandclosetonature,andimprovestheexternalvalidityandecologicalvalidityoftheresearchresults./p>
Multidisciplinary
Theresearchmethodismulti-scientific,andtheproblemsinvolvedinpsychologyarecomplexandoftenneedtobestudiedfromamulti-disciplinaryperspective.Multi-disciplinaryresearchinpsychologyTherearetwoways,oneisthecollaborationofvariousbranchesofpsychology,andtheotheristhecollaborationofpsychologyandotherdisciplines,suchasphilosophy,neuroscience,pedagogy,andsociology.
Culture
Theresearchparadigmhascross-culturalcharacteristics.Withthedeepeningofpsychologicalresearchandthedevelopmentoftheories,researcherspaymoreandmoreattentiontothesimilaritiesanddifferencesinthebehavioralperformanceandpsychologicaldevelopmentofindividualsindifferentculturalbackgrounds.,Thatis,whichpsychologicalcharacteristicsareuniversalandwhichpsychologicalcharacteristicsarespecificunderdifferentculturalbackgrounds的等。Cross-culturalresearchisofgreatsignificanceforenrichingtheresearchresultsofpsychology,clarifyingtheinfluencingfactorsandlawsofindividualpsychologicaldevelopmentandthescopeofuse,andhasbecomeanewparadigmofpsychologicalresearch.
Integration
Thecomprehensivetrendofpsychologyresearchmethodsismainlymanifestedin:①Advocatingtheuseofmultiplemethodstostudyandexplorepsychologicalphenomenaandtheirlaws,inordertocomparetheresultsobtainedfromdifferentmethodsTheresultsarecompared,supplementedandverified;②emphasizesandusesalargenumberofmultivariatedesignstorevealtheinterrelationshipsofvariousaspectsofmentalactivities;③emphasizestheuseofcomprehensivedesignmethods,suchasaggregatedcrossoverdesignwiththeadvantagesofbothverticalandhorizontaldesigns;④Focusoncombiningqualitativeandquantitativeresearchmethods.
Modernization
Themodernizationofresearchmethods,alongwiththerapiddevelopmentofmodernscienceandtechnology,inpsychologyresearch,audio,video,video,photographicequipmentandvariousspecializedresearchinstruments,Tools(suchassportshouses,visualcliffdevices,signalgenerators,facialemotionchangetesters,motionanalyzers,automaticrecorders,analyzers,eyetrackers,etc.)havebeenwidelyused,andabatchofmodernobservationroomsandexperimentsChamberswereestablishedoneafteranother.Amongthem,thelarge-scaleapplicationofcomputertechnologyindataprocessing,experimentalcontrol,andpsychologicalprocesssimulationinpsychologicalresearchisthemostprominentmanifestationofthemodernizationofresearchmethods.
Quantification
Thedevelopmentofcontemporaryscienceandtechnologyandmathematicshasacceleratedthetrendofquantificationinpsychologyresearch,whichisshowninthefollowing:①Increasinguseofmultivariateanalysismethodsinresearch②Computersandrelatedsoftwarehavebecomethemostimportantcalculationtools;③Inthefieldoftraditionalqualitativemethods,quantitativemethodssuchas"meta-analysis"havebeguntobeadopted;④Fuzzymathematicsisincreasinglybeingusedinpsychologicalresearch.
Themeaningofbirth
Becomingscience
referstoturningpsychologyintoscience.
DiscoursesandresearchonhumanpsychologycanbetracedbacktoGreekphilosophicalworks,someofwhicharequitespecific.Butnomatterhowelaborateorrigoroustheyare,themethodtheyuseisamethodofintrospection.Theresultisliketwochildrenarguing,noonecanpersuadeeachother.Moreover,thepsychologicalthoughtsatthattimewereconceivedinphilosophicalthoughts.Wemightaswellcallthem"psychologyinaneasychair",whichmeansthatpsychologythoughtsatthattimewereproducedbyphilosopherssittinginaneasychairthinkinghard.Thestatelasteduntilthemid-19thcentury.
Kant,thefounderofGermanclassicalphilosophy,onceassertedthatpsychologycannotbecomeascience.Thisiscertainlyaviewofhisagnosticism,buthisjudgmentisnotbaseless.Becausepsychologyorconsciousnessisinvisibleandintangible,italsohasgreatindividualdifferences,groupdifferences,andmultipledimensionsandlevels.Taketheissueofmindandbody,forexample.Sinceancienttimes,therehavebeentheoriesofmind-bodyparallelismandmind-bodysympathy.Theorieshavedebatedeachother.Eveniftheoutcomeisdetermined,noonehasthoughtofexperimentingtoprovetheirviews.
Herbartwasthefirstpersontodeclarethatpsychologyisanindependentscience,andhewrotethepsychologybook"PsychologyTextbook",buthedidnotuseexperimentalmethodsasamethodofstudyingpsychology.Hehimselfthinksthatnoexperimentalmethodisneeded;GermanbiologistHaoLeonceproposedtouseexperimentalmethodtostudyscience.Later,Weber,Fechnerandothersusedexperimentalmethodtoconductsomeexperimentsonphysiologicalandpsychologicalresearch.AlthoughFechnerproposedpsychophysics,hehadnointentionofestablishinganewtypeofpsychology.Therefore,theyhavefailedtomakepsychologyscientific.
Oneoftheimportantcharacteristicsthatdistinguishessciencefromphilosophyisitsrigorousempiricalnature.Thereasonwhyascienceisrecognizedbypeopleisthatitcanbeprovedtobecorrectinfrontofpeople.Inordertoprovethecorrectnessofadoctrine,moresystematicandpreciseexperimentsmustbecarriedout.Ifpsychologyistobreakfreefromthe"easychair"philosophicallogic,itmusthaveempiricalscientificcharacteristics.ThefamousexperimentalpsychologicalhistorianE.G.Paulinwrote:"Theapplicationofexperimentalmethodstopsychologicalproblemsisanunparalleledgreateventinthehistoryofpsychologicalresearch."BeforeWundt,thosewhowereengagedinphysiologicalresearchbegantotryexperimentalmethods,suchasMiller,Weber,Fechner,etc.,andtheirresearchresultswereinheritedbyWundt.WhenWundtwasaprofessorofphilosophyattheUniversityofZurichin1874,hebegantostudypsychologyandphilosophy.In1875WundtwenttotheUniversityofLeipzigtoteachandengageinpsychologyresearch.SinceWundtcreatedthefirstpsychologicallaboratory,thetwowords"scientific"and"experimental"havebecomethecoremeaningof"psychology".Therefore,fromthisperspective,oneofthegreatsignificanceofWundt'screationofexperimentalpsychologyistoturnpsychologyintoanempiricalscience.
Onthesurface,itseemsthatthegodoffatefavorsWundt,makinghimthefounderofpsychologicalscience.BecauseHerbartfirstproposedthatpsychologyisanindependentscience,Höllerproposedtouseexperimentalmethodstostudylifeprocesses,Fechnerproposedpsychophysics,andWundtjustestablishedapsychologicallaboratory.ButitisnotthatWundt’sluckisgood,butonlyWundtsatisfiesthenecessaryconditionsforbeingthefounderofscientificpsychology-empiricalresearchmethods,clearcreativemotives,andresearchactivities.TheseconditionsarepreciselynotHerbartandsoon.Whatpeoplehaveatthesametime.
Methodology
Thesignificanceofthebornmethodology:
Themethodologycurrentlyspokenhasthreelevels:generalphilosophicalmethodology,generalscientificmethodology,andspecificresearchMethodology.InWundt'sera,thethreelevelsofmethodologyhavenotyetdifferentiated,andthethreelevelsareoftenmixedtogether,buttheyalreadyhavetheembryonicformofmodernmethodology.
Wundtwasinfluencedbyempiricistphilosophyanddeniedtheoldconceptof"soul"inphilosophicalpsychology.Hebelievedthatpsychologywasascienceofdirectexperience;ontheotherhand,hewasinfluencedbyelementalismatthetime.Influence,itisbelievedthathumanpsychologycanbebrokendownintothemostbasicelements,andpeople’spsychologycanbeunderstoodbyanalyzingthesebasicelements.Itisworthmentioningonceagainthatalthoughhedeniespositivism,heisinevitablyaffectedbypositivism,andpositivismrunsthroughhisresearchactivities.Therefore,empiricism,elementalism,andpositivismconstitutethephilosophicalmethodologyofWundt'sexperimentalpsychology.
Undertheconsciousandunconsciousguidanceofthesephilosophicalviews,Wundtadoptedtwopsychologicalmethods:oneisintrospection;theotherispsychologicalproductanalysis.IntrospectionisnotWundt’sowncreation,buttheoldestmethodinphilosophicalpsychology.Thisisamethodofobservingpsychologicalprocessesunderstrictlycontrolledmaterialconditionsinthelaboratory,whichisverysimilartotheobservationofbiologicalstructuresinabiologicallaboratorywithamicroscope.Wundtusesthis"microscope"toconductpreciseandsystematicself-observationtostudysimplepsychologicalphenomenasuchasfeeling,perception,attention,reactiontime,andassociation.ItcanbeseenthatWundt'smethodofintrospectionisanempiricaltransformationofancientphilosophicalthinkingmethods.Althoughthemethodisnowbackwardandhasnoapplicationvalue,itsobservationisnolongeran"easychair"typeofspeculativelogicalobservation,butaninstrumentalandsystematicempiricalobservation.PsychologicalproductanalysismethodisinspiredbyHerbartandothers.Byclassifyingandcomparinglanguageandotherculturalproducts,Wundttriestofindamethodofsocialpsychology.
AlthoughthesetwomethodswerenotcreatedbyWundthimself,Wundtdeliberatelyintroducedthesetwomethods,especiallyexperimentalmethods,intopsychologicalresearch,whichmakespsychologytrulyascience.ThepsychologicalhistorianD.Schultzoncesaid:"Theimportantdifferencebetweenmodernpsychologyanditspioneersofwisdomliesnotinthetypesofquestionsasked,butinthemethodsusedtoexploretheanswers."Asmentionedearlier,beforeWundtproposedthecreationofindependentpsychology,Herbarthaddeclaredforthefirsttimethatpsychologywasanindependentscience,butitwasunsuccessful.However,itcanbesaidthattheintroductionofexperimentalmethodsintopsychologicalresearchispsychology.Abreakthroughinresearchmethods.
Wundt’sexperimentalmethodisanintrospectiveexperimentalmethod,withconsiderabletracesofphilosophicalspeculation.ItwasemphasizedtotheextremebyhisdiscipleTiechenna,whileWatson’sbehaviorismcompletelyabandonedspeculation.Evenwiththeoreticalguidance,bothhavegonetoextremes.Therearetwomodernexperimentalmethods:oneisthenaturalexperimentalmethod,whichdoesnotrequirestrictvariablecontrol;theotheristhelaboratoryexperimentalmethod,whichrequiresstrictcontrolofvariousvariablesandcompliancewithoperatingproceduresinthelaboratory.Thegeneralexperimentalpsychologyworksmainlyfocusonthelaboratoryexperimentmethod.Withthedevelopmentofmodernscienceandtechnologyandmodernstatisticalmethodsforconductingexperimentsandanalyzingexperiments,suchasmulti-factoranalysis,itisincreasinglyusedinthedesign,implementation,statistics,andanalysisofexperiments.Theapplicationofthesetechnologiesandmethodsisalsoamanifestationoftheempiricalspirit.
Developmentalsignificance
SinceWundtfoundedthefirstpsychologylaboratory,psychologyhasdevelopedatanunprecedentedspeed.In1883,only4yearsafterWundtfoundedthelaboratory,HauerestablishedthefirstAmericanpsychologylaboratoryintheUnitedStates;from1888to1895,thetrendofestablishingpsychologylaboratoriesintheUnitedStatesemergedthroughouttheUnitedStates..Fromtheendofthe19thcenturytothebeginningofthe20thcentury,variousschoolsofthoughtappeared,andallkindsofpsychologyweresurging,suchasWundt’sdiscipleTiechenner’sConstructivistPsychologySchool,Brentano’sMotivePsychologySchool,andFreud’sPsychoanalysisSchool,Watson’sBehaviorismSchool,etc.
Variousschoolsofpsychologyhavedifferentviewsandopinions,butmostschoolsofpsychologyattachimportancetoempiricalevidenceandprovideabasisfortheirviewsfromvariousperspectives.Constructivistpsychologyandfunctionalpsychologybothuselaboratoryexperimentmethodstostudythesensation,attention,perception,etc.relatedtophysiologicalpsychology,buttheyemphasizethestudyofpsychologicalstructureandpsychologicalfunctionrespectively.ThemethodofintrospectionwasemphasizedbyTichennatoanimproperdegree,whiletheexperimentalruleswereemphasizedandextendedbyWatson,andevenextendedtoequatehumanpsychologywithanimals,denyimplicitpsychologicalactivities,andstudytherelationshipbetweenanimalsandhumans.Behaviortounderstandpeople’spsychology.Watson’sbehaviorismopenedupanewfieldofresearchinpsychology,andatthesametimeledtoextremesintheobjectsandmethodsofpsychologicalresearch;Freud’spsychoanalytictheorywasalsosummedupinhislong-termmedicalpractice.Althoughrigorousexperimentalverificationisnotused,ithashisownsubjectiveassumptions.However,Freudhimselfisapositivist.Hebelievesthateverythinghasareasonandtriestofindvaluablecluesintheanalysisofdreams.Thusestablishedthetheoryofpsychoanalysis.
ThepositivismusedbyWundtunconsciouslyisempiricalpositivism.Withthein-depthdevelopmentofphilosophy,thetrendofphilosophicalthoughthasgraduallytransitionedtologicalpositivismrepresentedbytheViennaSchool,andlaterdevelopedtostructuralistphilosophy.Inaddition,theriseofhistoricismphilosophyhashadanimportantimpactonpsychologicalscience;ontheotherhand,theprogressofscienceandtechnology,theappearanceofcomputers,andtheentryofhumansocietyintotheinformationagealsohavedifferentinfluencesontheresearchofpsychology.Behaviorismhasbeensublatedduetoitsoverlyone-sidedresearchmethodsandobjects;Newbehaviorisminheritsbehaviorism,butithasnopowertorecover,anditdevelopsinthecognitivedirection;theemergenceofinformationtheoryandcomputershavefinallymadecognitivepsychologyEstablished.Regardlessofhowthevariousschoolsofthoughtopposeeachother,positivismhasneverbeenrejected.Eventhehumanisticpsychology,whichhastheleastempiricalspirit,isnotonlyproducedinhumanisticphilosophy,butistheresultofalotofinvestigationwork.
Fromtheabovebriefreviewofthedevelopmentofpsychologicalscience,itcanbefoundthatexperimentalmethodhasalwaysbeenasymbolofempiricalspiritandhasanimportantbasicroleinpsychologicalscience.Mostschoolsofpsychology,regardlessoftheirviews,useexperimentalmethods(includingbroadexperimentalmethodsandnarrowexperimentalmethods)astoolstoprovetheirviews.Tothisday,theexperimentalmethodisstillanindispensablemethodinthemethodsofpsychologicalscienceresearch.