Psychology Training Programs: Implications for the Nation's Poor

Among the cornerstones of social science is the separation of problem-oriented scholarly endeavors from those which are general and addressed to no specific problem. The extremes of this continuum have been referred to as "applied research" and "pure research." The latter is partially defined by scientists as being ethically neutral, disinterested, and objective. The former refers to the process of applying the products of pure research to the real world. It is, of course, not difficult to see that applied research might produce novel contributions to the structure of knowledge, just as pure research does, while pure research may indeed suggest quite direct applications. Cronback and Suppes (1969) have suggested another fundamental and perhaps more thoughtfully formulated distinction in science: conclusion-oriented versus decision-oriented research. Conclusion-oriented research is not directed toward a specific problem or application. Knowledge as theoryconstruction is the general goal, and the specifics are determined by the researcher himself, so that no particular extra-