Does translational research make sense in psychology? Which translation is examined?

Abstract

The origin and sense of translational research in clinical experimental biomedicine is examined. Three aspects are highlighted against the possibility of translational research in the case of psychology: a) the lack of a consolidated and a consensual body of basic science knowledge, b) the non-professional nature of psychology and the lack of a field of social application of knowledge of its own, contrary to the relation of biology with health disciplines, c) the impossibility of direct basic knowledge translation to applied situations without its adjustment to the concrete circumstances in which it might be useful. Regardless of these aspects, it is possible to apply the knowledge from a psychological basic science, if available, as part of an interdisciplinary intervention in different fields of social life, following a model of double deprofessionalization.