Case-Based Studies as a Source of Unity in Applied Psychology.

Abstract

To unify or not to unify applied psychology: That is the question. In this chapter we review pendulum swings in the historical efforts to answer this question, from a comprehensive, positivist, top-down, deductive yes between the 1930s and the early 1960s to a postmodern no since then and until recently. We then present a rationale and proposal for a limited, bottom-up, inductive yes, using a case-based paradigm that integrates both positivist and postmodern themes and components. We call this paradigm pragmatic psychology and its specific use of case studies the pragmatic case study method (PCS method), because it calls for the creation of peerreviewed journal-databases of pragmatic case studies. To illustrate the general potential of the PCS method, we begin with a specific psychotherapy case, which provides the reader with a concrete entree into the PCS method.