Beyond a Dream: The Practical Foundations of Disconnected Psychology

Authors

  • Dario Krpan London School of Economics and Political Science

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15626/MP.2020.2740

Keywords:

knowledge, ethics, method, research, meta-psychology

Abstract

Disconnected psychology is a form of psychological science in which researchers ground their work upon the main principles of psychological method but are detached from a “field” consisting of other psychologists that comprises connected psychology. It has previously been proposed that combining the two forms of psychology would result in the most significant advancement of psychological knowledge (Krpan, 2020). However, disconnected psychology may seem to be an “abstract utopia”, given that it has not been previously detailed how to put it into practice. The present article therefore sets the practical foundations of disconnected psychology. In this regard, I first describe a hypothetical disconnected psychologist and discuss relevant methodological and epistemological implications. I then propose how this variant of psychology could be integrated with the current academic system (i.e., with connected psychology). Overall, the present article transforms disconnected psychology from a hazy dream into substance that could eventually maximize psychological knowledge, even if implementing it would require a radical transformation of psychological science.

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