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CONVERGING OPERATIONS IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT
Author(s) -
Hicks Ronald G.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1971.tb00440.x
Subject(s) - conformity , psychology , affect (linguistics) , social psychology , obligation , reliability (semiconductor) , psychological science , cognitive psychology , psychological research , experimental psychology , cognition , communication , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , political science , law
The problem of reliability in the behavioral experiment appears to be due to the dynamic nature of the subject matter of the behavioral sciences resulting in interactions between the subjects ( S s), the experimenter ( E ), and the experimental situation ( SIT ). Both the E and SIT elicit varying degrees of nonassessable conformity in the S s' behavior. The S tends to preserve the behavior that the perceives is expected of him—the S 's conformity obligation. Just as natural and physical sciences have relied upon inferences built upon many intersecting and overlapping observations (a method called converging operationalism ), behavioral science could apply this method to resolve the difficulties of the E effect and the effects of the SIT , since both affect the reliability of the psychological experiment. Empirical factors that determine under what circumstances the E and SIT significantly affect the S 's experimental behavior are reviewed.