Organizational Psychology

In the past decade and a half, an interest in the topic of interaction between academic and practical psychology has flared up in our country with a new force, and many publications have appeared on this topic. It seems to us that such an ongoing discussion for decades is not accidental. The desireto theoretically and methodologically analyze the differences between practice and science in modern psychology, to find constructive ways of their interaction is largely determined by our immediate future, helping practice not to slip into charlatanry, and science to reach a new level, beyond analyzingonly correlations of opinions and subjective ideas. According to general logic, applied psychology is the research of a specific empirical object responding to an “external” request with scientific methods, ending with recommendations or programs of change developed. Such studies were conducted in Russia in various areas. They were not banned in the USSR years, and here the continuity betweenscience and its “applied incarnations” was maintained. Practical psychology in our country is called professional activity aimed at changing the personality, group, organization, i.e. suggesting not so much a study as an effect. It was this direction that was banned in our country and, having reappeared only in the mid-1970s, it began to flourish, and was not determined in its relations with basic science. This article aims to finding answers to the above questions. We intend to analyze the correlation of academic and practical psychology in terms of their differences and integration possibilities on the example of such a specific area as organizational psychology. The following key parameters for comparison are used: goal, boundaries, generalization, methods, interaction, result, language, performance criteria. In conclusion, two ways of possible integration of academic and practical psychology are outlined— action research in the framework of interdisciplinary projects and problem-oriented conferences among professional community.