Abstract

Two directions of development are claimed as necessary to the long-term viability of any academic specialty. They are named “vertical and horizontal” development for the present discussion, and their role in relation to a constructive project for theoretical psychology is articulated here. Vertical development involves critical reflection inward toward the concepts, methods, and questions relevant to psychology and more specifically to the theoretical psychology community. Horizontal development involves attunement to new ideas and empirical findings in fields outside of psychology, with evaluation of their implication for psychological theory. Examples of the two directions of development are offered, and they are related to the long-range project of constructive project for theoretical psychology, identified as the effort to make conceptual contributions to the human pool of resources for problem-solving, and to aid in engendering the wise application of these resources.