Abstract

ESCOBAR, Rogelio. From daily life to the lab: some examples of translational research. Rev. mex. anál. conducta [online]. 2011, vol.37, n.3, pp.32-50. ISSN 0185-4534.

Starting in the 1980s, several researchers have noted a gap between basic and applied research in behavior analysis. Following a trend in other sciences, basic research, directed towards precise knowledge of basic principles, has produced findings deemed too abstract to be incorporated in applied research. Translational research emerged as an attempt to relate basic findings with applied research and technological development. This article describes the relation between basic and applied science and the route towards the ideal of an experimental science in psychology. It also describes how the experimental analysis of behavior departed from its original interest in both basic and applied issues in favor of basic principles in non-human animal research. Previous literature suggests that basic researchers can contribute to the translation of principles into applications by developing non-human animal models of human behavior. This article presents examples of models that succeeded in translating daily life into laboratory preparations by providing a functional and not only a structural comparison of human and non-human animal behavior.

Keywords : translational research; bridge research; basic and applied science; animal model.

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