Psychological experiment in context of the problem of complexity

Abstract

The paper is dedicated to trends and problems of experimental practice in psychological science in the context of the problem of complexity. Epistemology of complexity by E. Morin is used for conceptualization of features of psychological knowledge and experimental method. Thе Researching phenomenon in psychological experiment have a number of properties that determine the need to develop adequate tools for the study and understanding; in the context of the problem of complexity: they are often not observable, the knowledge about them is indirect, they are multi-dimensional, woven into a diverse system of connections and historical, etc. The multiplicity of models of the same phenomena in psychology, which is often seen as a consequence of the crisis of psychological knowledge, in the context of the epistemology of complexity it acquires new meanings and can be interpreted as a natural property of psychological knowledge, which requires, however, rethinking of experimental practices and searching of new tract of experimental knowledge. As one of these ways Participatory Action Researches are considered as a postnonclassical sample of the knowledge complexity. Basic purpose of PAR is not only a study of the object, but also action aimed to it’s changing. Change and action in the context of PAR is irreplaceable and crucial element of methodology. Another feature of PAR is the equivalence of positions and collaboration between “experimenter” and “participants”. The purpose of the research is exploring through helping the community of interest by acting on the object. The research should include element of action, which aims at generating positive change and new knowledge at the same time. In contrast to the traditional linear model in research practice, this methodology is based on a circular model: a series of repeated cycles of planning, action, evaluation of action and reflection is taking place. The article is also dedicated to the problem of reproducibility of the results of psychological experiments. This issue is discussed as a direct consequence of features of object of research in psychology. Currently the movement associated with the revision of the results of psychological research, and the quality of the experimental work in which a large-scale replication studies is gaining momentum. In particular, two reports produced by community “Open Science Collaboration” within widescale “Reproducibililty Project: Psychology” are analyzed. The project contains replication data of hundreds of psychological researches. Technical, ethical and methodological aspects of knowledge production in psychology are discussed in context of the problem of reproducibility. In particular, the question of validity of reproducibility criterion and science criteria constituting research practice is discussed.