Falsification and experimental psychology: examples from face perception

Abstract The present article examines the relationships between the falsification approach as outlined in Popper (1995) and the methodological basis of experimental psychology. In view of this, I will offer suggestions that may reduce somewhat the severity of the following two problems that were raised against Popper approach: The “Duhem problem”, and “contradictory-findings disregard”, i.e., the fact that scientists tend to ignore findings that disconfirm their theory. These suggestions are based on the development of the “temporary closed explanatory domain” (TCED) model, which describes how the research in experimental psychology is carried out. Accordingly, The TCED proposes that a theory T (model, hypothesis) outlines a temporary closed domain for explaining the behavior under study. Two important factors outline the boundaries of TCED in experimental psychology. The first factor includes the variables of the theory itself that are defined operationally, and the experimental framework. The second factor refers to the “basic experimental manipulation” (BEM) that generate the behavior under study, the behavioral phenomenon that T attempts to explain. The article analyzes the Catch model for recognition and reconstruction of faces, as a research in experimental psychology that illustrates well the TCED approach.