A workable vision of scientific practice has proven to be an elusive, if
laudable, goal for professional psychology. The field cannot be faulted
for failing to seek scientific wisdom, but it has been slow to integrate
that wisdom fully with the wisdom of practice. This has proven to be a
major oversight for, despite psychology's long- if the standing
commitment to science, practitioners are unlikely to think
scientifically methods and products of science are described in ways
that make it impossible to do so. Unfortunately, the rhetoric of science
too often has done just that: So focused has it been on the problem of
distinguishing good science from bad that it has inadvertently defeated
any hope of a practical science developing in our field. We offer one
remedy for this situation: This book is about scientific thinking for
the professional psychologist. Specifically, it is a primer on the
application of scientific logic to professional practice. We argue that
the professional needs a more straightforward and realistic scientific
identity than heretofore has been available. The professional
consciously must become a local clinical scientist, bringing all the
power of scientific thought to the specifics of the clinical situation.
Contrary to forces in psychology that promote uncritical acceptance of
science as given by academic researchers or, alternatively, that
encourage criticism and ultimate disregard of the scientific endeavor,
we call for a redoubling of efforts to incorporate scientific thought
into practical professional inquiry.
