ABSTRACT
An often-noted truism says that fundamental and applied research can complement and enrich each other. A less common insight is that translational research conducted in the lab under experimentally controlled conditions can often lead to more practically useful applications and more responsible interventions than less controlled research conducted under naturalistic conditions. To illustrate this challenging and somewhat provocative point, in this chapter, several examples of practical insights and successful interventions that were inspired by abstract ideas derived from sampling-theoretical approaches to rationality research are presented. Consistent with Kurt Lewin’s (1943, p. 118) notion that “there is nothing as practical as a good theory,” translational research findings obtained under controlled lab conditions often result in more well-understood and more clearly specified predictions and interventions than applied research conducted in the wild.
