Knowledge by experiment

The process of obtaining knowledge through experiment to a certain extent is common to different sciences. It can be represented (of course, quite simply) as links in the following chain:
a) the formulation of a general research task: for example, I would like to find out how a small child learns to understand that the word two, the number 2 and two pencils (two erasers, two sheets of paper, two mittens, etc.) convey the same the same concept is the number two;
b) putting forward a certain set of hypotheses (i.e. assumptions that need to be checked).
For example, I assume that, under ordinary conditions, a person reads a word in his native language as a whole, and does not make it from syllables or letters. Or: I suppose that a deaf adult who is familiar with sign language can convey the contents of a movie using gestures;
c) the formulation of a working hypothesis and the derivation of experimentally verifiable consequences from it: if I am right that a person does not read a word by syllables or letters (hypothesis), then he will most likely not notice a quick reading of a familiar word errors (a consequence of the hypothesis, which can be tested empirically).
So, I turn to the experiment: I will suggest to my “experimental” (sociologists and linguists usually speak about the informant, and psychologists call him the subject) to read the words as soon as possible. To ensure really fast reading and control its speed, you need to show a person a word for a very short time interval, which I myself will adjust (for this you need a special device, but for now this is insignificant for us).
Most likely, well-known words (for example, common words) will be correctly read, even if they contain an error. In other words, the error will not be noticed. Actually, this is not enough: I know that even professional correctors can miss a typo. I will receive greater confidence in the correctness of my hypothesis if I present a word to the subject (hereinafter - and.), As if “consisting of errors” - for example, instead of a globe, I will show a “quasi-word” guard, but it will still be read as a globe. Or as a rebus;
d) the formulation of conclusions and the introduction of changes to the original ideas: in short, either my initial hypothesis is confirmed, or the experiment does not strengthen my confidence in the correctness of the initial assumption.
If you carefully reread paragraph (a) - (d), then it turns out that everything that could be said about each individual link in this chain is true not only for psycholinguistics, but also for any science where an experimental approach prevails: the same general rules for conducting an experiment, the same requirements for ensuring reproducibility and reliability of results.