Human curiosity is the main reason for the rapid development of civilization. Since ancient times, knowledge has been carried out using two main methods: observation and experiment. Despite the apparent identity, these concepts are significantly different from each other.

Definition

Experiment is a method scientific knowledge, in which objects are immersed in an artificially created environment, and their behavior is controlled by the experimenter. The main goal of such an action is to test the hypothesis, to search for new facts that can answer important questions for science.

Observation- this is a method of cognition in which the observer studies the properties of the object under study and fixes them. Intervention in the natural environment is minimal, and any person can carry out these activities, even in the absence of equipment and technology, as well as special knowledge.

Comparison

So, the most important difference lies in the way of interaction with the subject being studied. If the observer stands aside and studies objective data, then the experimenter actively intervenes in the course of events and directs them. Observation can be spontaneous, and experiment - only purposeful.

The experimenter is busy confirming the hypothesis he formulated earlier. The observer simply receives new data by collecting previously unknown information. The experiment is carried out in special conditions and in a closed (limited) environment, as a rule, artificially created, observation - in natural conditions. Another important point is the availability of special equipment. For experiment it is obligatory, while observation can do without it.

Findings site

1. Interaction with an object. The observer distances himself from the natural environment, and the experimenter actively intervenes in it.
2. Terms of conduct. Observation is carried out in natural conditions, and the experiment is carried out in artificially created ones.
3. Special equipment. To conduct an experiment, you need a base; observation can be carried out without equipment and tools.
4. Target. Observation is designed to fix reality and obtain new data, experiment - to confirm the hypothesis formulated speculatively.

Observation and experiment are two research methods that each of us used, regardless of involvement in science. Remember how exciting it is sometimes to watch pets or how frost draws patterns on glass. In fact, we study this world through daily observation. Experiments, by the way, are also found in ordinary life more often than it might seem. When I, as a schoolgirl, set fire to plasticine to see how it transforms, this was an experiment. What is the difference between these concepts? Why do scientists distinguish between them so clearly? Let's answer these questions!

Observation and experiment: reality and assumptions

Imagine an anthill. It is very entertaining to watch how its inhabitants go about their daily business: they move, carry small objects, dig minks. Contemplating this process, we are dealing with observation. This method allows us to conclude how work is divided between insects, where they crawl out for prey, and much more. Bring a drop of honey from home and put it in the anthill. How will the ants behave? Do they eat honey? Will they try to move a valuable gift? This will be an experiment that will confirm or refute conjectures, and maybe bring new discoveries with it. It turns out that observation differs from experiment in that in the first case it is sufficient connect the senses and record the results, and in the second - create and change conditions, actively participate in what is happening.

How is observation different from experiment?

The fact is that theory always precedes experiment. This means that before you start it, you ask yourself general or specific questions. It is logical that such a research method opens up more space for reflection and research, and its results can be the most unexpected.

In addition, observation is usually does not require additional equipment , except for devices that enhance the work of the senses. They may be:

• microscopes
• magnifiers;
• telescopes;
• binoculars;
• cameras.

In case of experiment, you most likely need a number of items to artificially create certain conditions. What this equipment will be depends only on the subject of research.

Experiment, observe, learn! Let the world be open for you!

Review of methods in personality psychology. Methods of observation and experiment.

The main methods of research in psychology, as in a number of other sciences, are empirical methods, which allow obtaining specific data concerning the nature of mental phenomena, the main of which are observation and experiment.
Observation- this is a scientific method of research, not limited to simple registration of facts, but scientifically explaining the causes of a particular psychological phenomenon. It is divided into everyday observations, which are limited to the registration of facts that are random and unorganized, and the scientific method of observation - the transition from a description of a fact to an explanation of its inner essence.
Experiment- this is the active intervention of the researcher in the activities of the subject in order to create conditions in which a psychological fact is revealed. The laboratory experiment takes place under special conditions using special equipment. A natural experiment takes place under normal conditions and is used in the study of cognitive abilities at different age stages. A formative experiment (teaching and educating), models some aspects of human activity.
Auxiliary methods of psychology include: analysis of products of activity, biographical method, twin method, sociometry, modeling, questioning, predictive and diagnostic tests.

Even more new information - on the site psychoanalysis.rf

According to B.G. Ananiev in psychology, four groups of methods are distinguished:
Group I - organizational methods. They include the comparative method (comparison of different groups by age, activity, etc.); longitudinal method (multiple examinations of the same persons over a long period of time); complex method (representatives of different sciences participate in the study; at the same time, as a rule, one object is studied by different means. Studies of this kind allow establishing connections and dependencies between phenomena different type, for example, between physiological, psychological and social development personality).
Group II - empirical methods, including: observation and self-observation; experimental methods, psychodiagnostic methods (tests, questionnaires, questionnaires, sociometry, interviews, conversations), analysis of activity products, biographical methods.
Group III - data processing methods, including: quantitative (statistical) and qualitative (differentiation of material by groups, analysis) methods.
Group IV - interpretative methods, including genetic (analysis of the material in terms of development with the allocation of individual phases, stages, critical moments, etc.) and structural (establishes structural relationships between all personality characteristics) methods.
Let us dwell on a more detailed consideration of the most significant methods of psychology.
Observation Method is a purposeful process of perception of certain events and their registration. Observation in psychology appears in two main forms - as self-observation, or introspection, and as external, or so-called objective, observation.
Through self-observation, we reveal the content of our mental processes. Genuine awareness of one's own experience is accomplished through an act directed not directly at him, but at one or another task, which is carried out by the action emanating from him. By resolving it, the subject reveals himself in the corresponding action - external or internal. If by self-observation we understand the observation of oneself, one's own psyche, then it itself includes the unity and interconnection of internal and external observation, internal and external data. Self-observation can only be a phase, a moment, a side of research, which, when one attempts to verify its data, inevitably passes into objective observation.
Objective, i.e. external observation is the simplest and most common of all objective methods of research, through which we cognize the phenomena of objective reality that are reflected in our mental processes. The description of phenomena on the basis of observation is correct if the psychological understanding contained in it of the inner psychological side of an external act gives a natural explanation of its external course in various conditions.
The main advantage of the method of objective observation is that it makes it possible to study mental processes in natural conditions; in particular, the child can be observed in the conditions of learning at school. However, in the study of phenomena in which the relation between the external side of behavior and its internal psychological content is more or less complex, objective observation, while retaining its value, must for the most part be supplemented by other methods of investigation.
Using the method of observation through the Gezzela glass (a translucent mirror behind which the researcher and equipment are located), Kurt Lewin- American psychologist introduced the concept of field behavior. Alone with himself, a person carries out field behavior, which is determined by the multidirectional action of objects. After the appearance of another person, he begins to behave, obeying the norms of the social situation, the behavior becomes volitional.

Experiment Method is one of the main methods of psychology. The main task of a psychological experiment, like observation, is to make available to objective external perception the essential features of the internal mental process. But experiment differs from observation in a number of ways.

The main features of the experiment, which determine its strength, are as follows. First, in an experiment, the researcher himself causes the phenomenon he is studying, in contrast to observation, in which the observer cannot actively intervene in the situation. Secondly, the experimenter can vary, change the conditions for the flow and manifestation of the process under study. Thirdly, in the experiment, it is possible to alternately exclude individual conditions (variables) in order to establish regular relationships that determine the process under study. Fourthly, the experiment also allows you to vary the quantitative ratio of conditions, allows mathematical processing of the data obtained in the study.

Laboratory psychological experiment takes place in specially created and controlled conditions, as a rule, with the use of special equipment and instruments. The initial object of a laboratory experiment in psychology was elementary mental processes: sensations, perceptions, reaction speed. Distinctive feature experiment in the laboratory is the strict observance of the conditions of the study and the accuracy of the data obtained. Achieved great perfection in the use of laboratory experiment cognitive psychology that studies human cognitive processes. Cognitive processes constituted the main area laboratory research human psychology.

scientific objectivity and the practical significance of the data obtained in a laboratory experiment reduces the artificiality of the conditions created. This is due both to the remoteness of the tasks solved in the experiment from the real life conditions of the subject, and to the inability to fix the nature of the influence of the experimenter on the subject during the study. Therefore, there is a problem of transferring the data obtained in the laboratory to the real conditions of human life.

A natural psychological experiment, a kind of experiment, representing, as it were, an intermediate form between observation and experiment, proposed by A.F. Lazursky, removes the noted limitations of the laboratory experiment. Its main difference lies in the combination of the experimental nature of the study with the naturalness of the conditions. Subjects participating in a natural experiment are unaware that they are acting as subjects.

An example of an experimental method is a study in which the same situations or events are called up and two variables controlled by the experimenter are introduced - independent (x) - the circumstance that the researcher himself changes, and dependent (y) - the answers that the subject gives when changing circumstances, variables. The meaning of the experiment is to establish a relationship between x and y in the form y=f(x). Built on this hick method- study of reaction time to various situations. With an increase in the number of choice alternatives (n), the reaction time (Tr) grows linearly - Tr=f(n), with n<=7, так как законы в психологии носят ограниченный характер.

What is the difference between experiment and observation? and got the best answer

Answer from Denis Odessa[active]
It differs from observation by active interaction with the object under study. Usually, an experiment is carried out as part of a scientific study and serves to test a hypothesis, establish causal relationships between phenomena.

Answer from Vasily Khaminov[guru]
when experimenting, you subject an object to some kind of test)) And observations are just observing it in natural conditions))

Answer from Daria Shevchuk[active]
observation is a passive way of knowing, and experience is an active way.

Answer from Vinera Ovechkin[newbie]
Observation is the perception of natural objects, and experiment is observation in specially created and controlled conditions. That is, the difference is that Observation all depends on nature, while Experiment there everything needs to be done by yourself

Answer from Dima Kuznetsov[guru]
you can watch the experiment O_O

Answer from _BE`Z analoga_ I`[newbie]
Scientific observation (N.) is the perception of objects and phenomena of reality, carried out with the aim of their knowledge. In N.'s act, one can single out:
1) object;
2) subject;
3) funds;
4) conditions;
5) a system of knowledge, on the basis of which the goal of N. is set and its results are interpreted.
All these components should be taken into account when reporting N.'s results so that any other observer can repeat it. The most important requirement for scientific N. is the observance of intersubjectivity. It implies that N. can be repeated by each observer with the same result. Only in this case the result of N. will be included in science. Therefore, eg. , observations of UFOs or various parapsychic phenomena that do not satisfy the requirement of intersubjectivity still remain outside of science.
N. are subdivided into direct and indirect. With direct N., the scientist observes the chosen object itself. However, this is not always possible. Eg. , objects of quantum mechanics or many objects of astronomy cannot be observed directly. We can judge the properties of such objects only on the basis of their interaction with other objects. This kind of N. is called indirect, it is based on the assumption of a certain regular connection between the properties of directly unobservable objects and the observed manifestations of these properties and contains a logical conclusion about the properties of an unobservable object based on the observed effect of its action. It should be noted that a sharp boundary cannot be drawn between direct and indirect N.. In modern science, indirect N. are becoming more widespread as the number and sophistication of the instruments used in N. increases, and the scope of scientific research expands. The observed object affects the device, and the scientist directly observes only the result of the interaction of the object with the device.
Experiment (E.) is a direct material impact on a real object or the conditions surrounding it, produced with the aim of knowing this object.
The following elements are usually distinguished in E.:
1) purpose;
2) the object of experimentation;
3) the conditions in which the object is located or in which it is placed;
4) E. means;
5) material impact on the object.
Each of these elements can be used as the basis for the classification of electrons; they can be divided into physical, chemical, biological, etc., depending on the differences in the objects of experimentation. One of the simplest classifications is based on differences in the goals of E.: for example. , establishment of k.-l. patterns or discovery of facts. E., conducted for this purpose, are called "search". The result of search E. is new information about the area under study. However, most often the experiment is carried out in order to test some hypothesis or theory. Such E. is called "verification". It is clear that it is impossible to draw a sharp line between these two types of E. The same E. can be used to test a hypothesis and at the same time provide unexpected information about the objects under study. In the same way, the result of search E. can force us to abandon the accepted hypothesis or, on the contrary, give an empirical justification to our theoretical reasoning. In modern science, the same E. more and more often serves different purposes.
E. is always called upon to answer a particular question. But for a question to be meaningful and allow a definite answer, it must be based on prior knowledge of the area under study. It is theory that provides this knowledge, and it is the theory that raises the question for the sake of answering which E. is posed. Therefore, E. cannot bring the correct result without theory. Initially, the question is formulated in the language of theory, that is, in theoretical terms denoting abstract, idealized objects. In order for E. to answer the question of theory, this question must be reformulated in empirical terms, the meanings of which are sensually perceived objects. It should, however, be emphasized that, by implementing N. and E., we go beyond purely

Answer from Vladimir Sudin[guru]
Well, you know, HELLO!
Experiment - when you participate, and observation - NOTHING depends on you ....

Answer from hungry ghost[guru]
experiment - they make experiments, observation - they just observe, look (for example, how quickly a plant grows under the influence of some kind of fertilizer) ... experiment - practice, observation - theory

Definition of the term "experimental method" in a broad and narrow sense.

Experimental method in the broad sense of the word, on TV. Kornilova, is a change in any conditions when studying patterns in a particular area of ​​empirical reality.

Experimental method in the narrow sense of the word, on TV. Kornilova, is a test of scientific hypotheses of a causal (causal) nature based on the application of the standards of the experimental method.

The material of subsequent lectures will be devoted to answering the questions:

How do causal or causal hypotheses differ from other types of scientific hypotheses?

What characterizes an experiment as a system of norms for testing hypotheses?

1. The first method, which is usually introduced to students, is observation. In a number of sciences, this is the only empirical method. The classical observational science is astronomy. All its achievements are connected with the improvement of observation techniques. Observation is no less important in the behavioral sciences. The main results in ethology (the science of animal behavior) were obtained by observing the activity of animals in natural conditions. Observation is of great importance in physics, chemistry, and biology. Associated with observation is the so-called idiographic approach to the study of reality. Followers of this approach consider it the only possible one in the sciences that study unique objects, their behavior and history.

The idiographic approach requires observation and recording of single phenomena and events. It is widely used in historical disciplines. It is also important in psychology. Suffice it to recall such studies as the work of A.R. Luria "A Little Book of Great Memory" or Z. Freud's monograph "Leonardo da Vinci".

The idiographic approach is opposed nomothetic approach- a study that reveals the general laws of development, existence and interaction of objects.

Observation is a method on the basis of which one can implement either a nomothetic or an idiographic approach to the cognition of reality.

Observation is called purposeful, organized and fixed in a certain way the perception of the object under study. The results of fixing the observation data are called the description of the object's behavior.

Observation can be carried out directly or using technical means and methods of data recording (photo, audio and video equipment, observation cards, etc.). However, with the help of observation, one can detect only phenomena that occur in ordinary, "normal" conditions, and in order to know the essential properties of an object, it is necessary to create special conditions that are different from "normal". In addition, observation does not allow the researcher to purposefully vary the conditions of observation in accordance with the plan. The researcher cannot influence the object in order to know its characteristics hidden from direct perception.

The experiment allows you to identify causal relationships and answer the question: "What caused the change in behavior?". Surveillance is used when it is either impossible or inadmissible to interfere with the natural course of the process.

The main features of the observation method are:

Direct connection between the observer and the observed object;

Partiality (emotional coloring) of observation;

Difficulty (sometimes - impossibility) of repeated observation. In the natural sciences, the observer, as a rule, does not influence the process (phenomenon) being studied. In psychology, there is a problem of interaction between the observer and the observed. The presence of the researcher, if the subject knows that he is being observed, influences his behavior.

The limitation of the method of observation gave rise to other, more "perfect" methods of empirical research: experiment and measurement. Experiment and measurement make it possible to objectify the process, because they are carried out using special equipment and methods for objectively recording results in a quantitative form.

Unlike observation and measurement, the experiment allows you to reproduce the phenomena of reality in specially created conditions and thereby reveal the cause-and-effect relationships between the phenomenon and the features of external conditions.

2. Measurement carried out both in natural and artificially created conditions. The difference between measurement and experiment lies in the fact that the researcher seeks not to influence the object, but registers its characteristics as they are " objectively", regardless of the researcher and measurement technique(the latter is impossible for a number of sciences).

Unlike observation, measurement is carried out in the course of device-mediated interaction between the object and the measuring tool: the natural "behavior" of the object is not modified, but is controlled and recorded by the device. When measuring, it is impossible to identify cause-and-effect relationships, but it is possible to establish relationships between the levels of different parameters of objects. So the measurement turns into a correlation study.

Measurement is usually defined as some operation by which numbers are attributed to things. From a mathematical point of view, this "attribution" requires establishing a correspondence between the properties of numbers and the properties of things. From a methodological point of view, measurement is the registration of the state of an object (objects) using the states of another object (device). In this case, a function must be defined that links the states of the object and the device. The operation of assigning numbers to an object is secondary: we consider the numerical values ​​on the scale of the device not as indicators of the device, but as quantitative characteristics of the state of the object. Specialists in measurement theory have always paid more attention to the second procedure - interpretation of indicators, and not the first - a description of the interaction between the device and the object. Ideally, the interpretation operation should accurately describe the process of interaction between the object and the device, namely, the influence of the characteristics of the object on its readings.

So, dimension can be defined as an empirical method for identifying the properties or states of an object by organizing the interaction of an object with a measuring device, the state changes of which depend on the change in the state of the object . The device can be not only an object external to the researcher. For example, a ruler is a device for measuring length. The researcher himself can be a measuring instrument: "man is the measure of all things." Indeed, the foot, finger, forearm served as primary measures of length (foot, inch, elbow, etc.). It is the same with the "measurement" of human behavior: the behavior of another researcher can be assessed directly - then he turns into an expert. This kind of measurement is similar to observation. But there is an instrumental measurement, when a psychologist uses some kind of measuring technique, such as an intelligence test. Features of the measurement method in psychology will be considered later. Here we only note that in psychology, measurement is understood as two completely different processes.

1. A psychological measurement is an assessment of the magnitude of certain parameters of reality or an assessment of the similarities and differences of objects of reality, which is produced by the subject. Based on these assessments, the researcher "measures" the features of the subjective reality of the subject. In this sense, the "psychological dimension" is the task given to the subject.

2. Psychological measurement in the second meaning, which we will talk about in the future, is carried out by the researcher to assess the characteristics of the behavior of the subject. This is the task of the psychologist, not the subject.

Observation can conditionally be attributed to "passive" research methods. Indeed, by observing people's behavior or measuring the parameters of behavior, we are dealing with what nature provides us with "here-and-now". We cannot repeat the observation at a convenient time for us and reproduce the process at will. When measuring, we register only "external" properties;

often, in order to reveal "hidden" properties, it is necessary to "provoke" a change in an object or its behavior by constructing other external conditions.

3. To establish cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena and processes, experiment. The researcher tries to change the external conditions in such a way as to influence the object under study. In this case, the external influence on the object is considered a cause, and a change in the state (behavior) of the object is considered a consequence.

Experiment is an "active" method of studying reality. The researcher not only asks questions to nature, but also "forces" her to answer them. Observation and measurement allow answering the questions: "How? When? How?", and the experiment answers the question "Why?".

The experiment is called conducting research in specially created, controlled conditions in order to test the experimental hypothesis of a causal relationship. During the experiment, the researcher always observes the behavior of the object and measures its state. Observation and measurement procedures are part of the experiment process. In addition, the researcher influences the object in a planned and purposeful manner in order to measure its state. This operation is called experimental impact. The experiment is the main method of modern natural science and natural science-oriented psychology. In the scientific literature, the term "experiment" is used both for a holistic experimental study - a series of experimental samples carried out according to a single plan, and for a single experimental sample - experience.

Summing up, we note that observation is a direct, "passive" method of research. Measurement is a passive but indirect method. An experiment is an active and indirect method of studying reality.

Experiment is one of the main methods of scientific research. In general scientific terms experiment is defined as a special research method aimed at testing scientific and applied hypotheses, requiring strict logic of proof and based on reliable facts. In an experiment, some artificial (experimental) situation is always created, the causes of the phenomena being studied are singled out, the consequences of the actions of these causes are strictly controlled and evaluated, and the connections between the phenomena under study are clarified.

An experiment as a method of psychological research corresponds to the above definition, but has some specifics. Many authors, as V.N. Druzhinin, the “subjectivity of the object” of the study is singled out as a key feature of a psychological experiment. A person as an object of cognition has activity, consciousness, and thus can influence both the process of his study and its result. Therefore, special ethical requirements are imposed on the situation of an experiment in psychology, and the experiment itself can be considered as a process of communication between the experimenter and the subject.

The task of a psychological experiment is to make an internal mental phenomenon accessible to objective observation. At the same time, the phenomenon under study should be adequately and unambiguously manifested in external behavior, which is achieved through purposeful control of the conditions for its occurrence and course. S.L. Rubinstein wrote:

“The main task of a psychological experiment is to make available to objective external observation the essential features of the internal mental process. To do this, it is necessary, by varying the conditions for the flow of external activity, to find a situation in which the external flow of the act would adequately reflect its internal mental content. The task of experimental variation of conditions in a psychological experiment is, first of all, to reveal the correctness of a single psychological interpretation of an action or deed, excluding the possibility of all the others.

V.V. Nikandrov points out that the achievement of the main goal of the experiment - the maximum possible unambiguity in understanding the connections between the phenomena of internal mental life and their external manifestations - is achieved due to the following main characteristics of the experiment:

1) the initiative of the experimenter in the manifestation of psychological facts of interest to him;

2) the possibility of varying the conditions for the emergence and development of mental phenomena;

3) strict control and fixation of the conditions and the process of their occurrence;

4) isolation of some and emphasis on other factors that determine the studied phenomena, which makes it possible to identify the patterns of their existence;

5) the possibility of repeating the conditions of the experiment for multiple verification of the obtained scientific data and their accumulation;

6) variation of conditions for quantitative assessments of the revealed regularities.

Thus, a psychological experiment can be defined as a method in which the researcher himself causes phenomena of interest to him and changes the conditions for their occurrence in order to establish the causes of these phenomena and the patterns of their development. In addition, the obtained scientific facts can be repeatedly reproduced due to the controllability and strict control of conditions, which makes it possible to verify them, as well as to accumulate quantitative data, on the basis of which it is possible to judge the typicality or randomness of the studied phenomena.