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What are the two main reasons that psychologists do research?

Psychologists study a wide variety of phenomena. For instance, some specialize in understanding social behavior. Others study memory, or child development, or cognitive neuroscience. But regardless of the area of specialization, you can usually categorize a piece of research in one of two ways. It's either (1) research aimed at helping people, or (2) research aimed at furthering knowledge for its own sake.


For example, imagine a study designed to test the effectiveness of two different ways of teaching mathematics to young children. The researchers might call themselves "educational psychologists," but we can also say their work is designed to address a practical, real-world problem. They want to see which teaching method is better, and the results of their study can be put to immediate use. Another way to say this is that the research has clear, immediate applications. It's what scientists call "applied research."


By contrast, cognitive psychologists might perform experiments on toddlers to see if they can tell the difference between an array of 12 dots and an array of 16 dots. The researchers aren't trying to find a solution to a practical problem. They simply want to understand how the mind works. Can little kids tell if one set of objects is bigger than another, even if they haven't yet learned to count? Possibly, the results of the study will lead to practical applications. Someday, their research might yield insights that help teachers improve education practices. But for now, these psychologists are motivated by gaining knowledge for its own sake. It's what scientists call "pure" or "basic" research.


Of course, the distinction isn't always clear-cut.


Sometimes a psychologist sets out to do applied research, and discovers things along the way that contribute to basic research. An example might be a study where the researchers are testing the effects of a drug therapy and discover a strange, new side effect that makes psychologists question what they thought they knew about the mind.


Alternatively, somebody doing "pure" research on the determinants of self-control might find her work being used by therapists who counsel people with addiction.

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