Experimental+Psychology

Experimental psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on the empirical analysis of data through experiments. Experimental psychology doesn’t focus as much on what is studied as how things are studied. As the field has grown so has the widely accepted methodologies that have become universal to scientists. They have agreed upon structures that allow studies in varying branches of psychology to be valid and reproducible (Davis, 2003). There are a lot of broad topics covered by experimental psychology because, as it is concerned with the process or experimentation, it can be applied to many different areas. While it includes many topics of research, according to Davis, it can be seen best as looking closer at measuring the mind, looking inward, assessing the individual, and observing behavior (Davis, 203). The main question experimental psychology looks to answer is why people behave the way they do or why they think the way they do. It is concerned with the processes of the mind and how those processes affect who we are and what we do (Davis, 2003).The beginnings of psychology can be seen as far back as the early 1500s with the growth of scientific study that spurred the development of many specialized branches. According to H. L. Roediger, though, It was the late 1800s until those experimental methods began being applied to the study of mind specifically (Solso, 1997). When psychology began it was not established as its own field, but held a spot in both philosophy and physiology. In an attempted to portray its validity, scientists looked to experimentation and statistical analysis in order to establish it as a scientific study (Davis, 2003). Some of these early psychologists who were critical in establishing experimental psychology as its own field were Gustav Fechner, with his publication of //Elements of Psychophysics//, and William Wundt, with the founding of his laboratory in Leipzig and his publication of //Principles of Physiological Psychology// (Davis, 2003).

References Davis, S. F . ( 2003 ). //Handbook of research methods in experimental psychology ////. // Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd . Roediger, H. L. (1997). The future of cognitive psychology. In R. L. Solso (Ed.), //Mind and the brain sciences// (pp. 175-198). London: The MIT Press.