Basic vs. Applied Psychology, Essay Example

The difference between basic psychology and applied psychology recalls the classical difference between theory and practice. Basic psychology, accordingly, provides the theoretical framework and conceptual language which informs psychological approaches, which are then put into practice (applied psychology). Navigating this difference is arguably one of the most important tasks of the psychologist. On the one hand, she must be well versed in the concepts that constitute psychology as a science. On the other hand, she must be able to practically utilize these same concepts in an effective manner. In short, what works in theory perhaps may not always work in practice. However, practice must be grounded in theory, in so far as “there must be a specific theoretical explanation as to why psychologists do what they do, suggest what they suggest, and intervene in the way that they intervene.” (Bekerian & Levey, 2012, p. xiv)

One clear paradigm in which theory may be put into practice is marketing. Whereas using psychological principles in marketing is questionable from the perspective of ethics, as psychological concepts are not being used in a therapeutic, but rather in a manipulative sense, to the extent that psychology tells a story about human behavior, this narrative is clearly also relevant to marketing. For example, Gestalt theory can be rewarding for marketing practice. Since Gestalt theory stresses that “stimuli never occur in isolation from others” (Foxall et al., 1998, p. 61), for marketing this means that the product sold is never reducible to the product itself. For example, packaging, brand name, reputation of the product, etc. holistically create a context according to which the consumer perceives the product. Visuals of the product, therefore, are one crucial example of this theory. Marketers should not overlook parts of the context which engender the story about the product. Thus, using design principles to create context become crucial to marketing a specific item.

References

Bekerian, D. & Levey, A. (2012). Applied Psychology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Foxall, G.R., Goldsmith, R. & Brown, S. (1998) Consumer Psychology for Marketing. Belmont, CA: Cengage.