Evolution of the Links between Research and Applications in Psychology across the United States and France: Illustrations and Consequences of an Endless Conflict

Abstract

The author focuses on a historical analysis of the conflicting links between what is called "applications" or "practices" on the one hand and "theoretical research" or "experimental research" or "fundamental research" on the other, by following trends and cultures. Despite numerous declarations of intent advocating the need to link practices and theories, the fact remains that both types of psychology tend to move further and further away from this aim, since the birth of psychology. This growing gap questions the possibility of a total division between "applied psychology" and "fundamental psychology". First, the author discusses the complexity of the terms used by the different authors, such as "applied psychology", "practical psychology" and "concrete psychology", compared to other terms such as "academic", "experimental", "theoretical", "fundamental psychology", etc. These different names are considered as an indicator of the fluctuations in the relationship between applications and theories. Second, the author shows that the field categories in psychology were built upon different foundations in France and underlines the consequences of this process. This viewpoint will be illustrated by a French case: that of the creation and dissemination of a new psychological discipline at the end of the 80s. The interest of this example is that it shows the disparities between the academic theories and practical developments. In addition, it allows us to highlight its tension lines, with considerable consequences for students and practitioners. The discussion shows the need to implement a real space that enables the analysis of concrete practices by psychologists considered as producers of new knowledge, and in this way to make the construction of new psychology models possible.

The rapid expansion of (mainstream) health psychology in France: Historical foundations

“…Between the two World Wars, strong social needs contributed to the rise of a particular demand for ‘applied’ psychology, given that this discipline had until then been mainly limited to laboratory work (Santiago-Delefosse, 2015a). Under the influence of Henri Piéron (1881–1964), director of the experimental psychology laboratory at the University of Paris, the course on career counselling became the first branch of applied psychology officially acknowledged in 1938.…”

“…4,5 However, practitioners in this field did not consider themselves as part of ‘applied psychology’. Clinical psychology was not seen as ‘application’ but as ‘concrete practice’, with its own epistemological foundations and methods (Santiago-Delefosse, 2015a). Little by little, after World War II, psychology had become a profession in its own right, with its different orientations and sub-disciplines, among which now appeared ‘psychology in medical settings’.…”