2010/05/01 by F. Charles Mace, Thomas S. Critchfield · 2 citations
Psychology · Medicine · Engineering · #Behavioral and Psychological Studies #Basic research #Translational research #Computer science #Data science #Management science #Engineering ethics #Epistemology #Cognitive science #Sociology #Psychology #Medicine #Engineering
paper · doi:10.1901/jeab.2010.93-293
openalex publication_date 2010/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
"Pure basic" science can become detached from the natural world that it is supposed to explain. "Pure applied" work can become detached from fundamental processes that shape the world it is supposed to improve. Neither demands the intellectual support of a broad scholarly community or the material support of society. Translational research can do better by seeking innovation in theory or practice through the synthesis of basic and applied questions, literatures, and methods. Although translational thinking has always occurred in behavior analysis, progress often has been constrained by a functional separation of basic and applied communities. A review of translational traditions in behavior analysis suggests that innovation is most likely when individuals with basic and applied expertise collaborate. Such innovation may have to accelerate for behavior analysis to be taken seriously as a general-purpose science of behavior. We discuss the need for better coordination between the basic and applied sectors, and argue that such coordination compromises neither while benefiting both.