SCENARIOS - THE SCIENTIST-PRACTITIONER SPLIT AND THE FUTURE OF PSYCHOLOGY

The much-discussed scientist-practitioner split is addressed in this a rticle, using some concepts from the sociology of professions and from the craft of scenario building. American psychology is viewed as an a cademic profession that began to develop applied or practitioner inter ests and that, driven by economic and social forces, has undergone dif ferentiation to the point where a complete division into 2 professions is a definite possibility. It is contended that psychologists may fru itfully attempt to deal with a turbulent and uncertain future by const ructing alternative scenarios as a tool for debate and analysis. Four such scenarios are presented, a sample of the, many that could be form ulated, to illustrate the scenario-building technique.