Experimental psychology

Experimental psychology studies mental processes and behavior through controlled experiments and other empirical methods. It tests explanations by manipulating conditions and measuring responses.

Experimental design: The plan for assigning conditions, measuring outcomes, and controlling sources of bias in a study. It determines whether psychological findings can be attributed to the conditions researchers manipulate.
Psychology: The scientific study of mind and behavior. Experimental psychology is one empirical approach within this broader discipline.
Wilhelm Wundt: A German psychologist who established a laboratory for experimental psychology in Leipzig in 1879. His laboratory helped institutionalize psychology as an experimental discipline.
Correlational study: A study that measures associations between variables without manipulating them. Unlike controlled experiments, correlations alone cannot establish that one variable causes another.
Independent variable: A factor researchers manipulate or classify to examine its relationship with an outcome. Experimental psychologists vary this factor to test its effects on behavior or mental processes.
Behaviorism: An approach to psychology that emphasizes observable behavior and learning. Its focus on measurable behavior shaped early experimental methods and theories.
William James: An American philosopher and psychologist who helped establish psychology in the United States. His work connected experimental inquiry with broader questions about consciousness and adaptation.
Quasi-experiment: A study that compares conditions without random assignment or full experimental control. It offers causal clues when random assignment is impractical, with greater risk of confounding.
Dependent variable: A measured outcome whose variation is studied in relation to other factors. Reaction times, choices, and accuracy can serve as outcomes in psychological experiments.
Cognitive psychology: The study of processes such as attention, memory, language, and reasoning. It uses experiments to infer mental operations that cannot be observed directly.

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