Basic psychology, applied psychology and research methodology: A paradigm for experimental and applied behavioral analysis

In this article, the relationship between Psychology as a basic and as an a pplied science is analyzed, from a perspective that links its historical de velopment with a fundamental methodological aspect: group-comparison versus single-case strategies. The evolution of Psychology is reviewed from this perspective, and converging and diverging periods between basic and applied dimensions of the discipline are pointed out, together with the role playe d in this process by methodological strategies. The second part of the arti cle presents the tradition of the experimental and applied behavior analysi s as an example of a fruitful relationship between basic and applied Psycho logy. In this particular case, convergence was aided by the adoption of a s hared scientific framework that, among its main characteristics, implied th e use of single-case methodology.