THE IMPACT OF SCIENCE ON APPLICATION: A ONE-WAY STREET?

Abstract

The relation between basic research and application is not a one-way street. As in every science, basic behavioral research is concerned with phenomena that are available to everyday observation. Everybody knows that people learn, that they remember, that symbols play important roles in our lives, that rewards and punishments influence what we do, that we interact socially, that we communicate through spoken and written words, and so on. These phenomena are as obvious to everybody as the rising and setting of the sun, the relation between clouds and rain, the dependence of life upon food, the fall of unsupported objects, and so on. Science does not accept the everyday descriptive language or the everyday techniques of observation that such phenomena have generated, but no science that ignores the phenomena and language of everyday life will keep on receiving public support. A science of behavior analysis must continue to derive its inspiration for basic research from phenomena that we observe outside the laboratory.Keywords: science, applied psychology, basic research