World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Behavioral Sciences and the Law
H-index 10

Behavioral Sciences and the Law

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Psychology 669 44 60 10
Social Sciences and Humanities 1296 6 6 3

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 54
Documents by Best Scientists*: 67
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 4
SCIMAGO H-index: 87
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.459
Impact Factor: 1.3

Overview

Top Research Topics at Behavioral Sciences & The Law?

The main points discussed in Behavioral Sciences & The Law deals with Suicide prevention, Human factors and ergonomics, Psychiatry, Social psychology and Injury prevention. While work presented in the journal provided substantial information on Suicide prevention, it also covered topics in Computer security, Occupational safety and health, Criminology and Medical emergency. Discussions in the journal are anchored in the subject of Computer security and the similar topic of Law.

Most of the works presented in Behavioral Sciences & The Law deals with Human factors and ergonomics but it intersects with the subject of Risk assessment. Discussions in the journal are anchored in the subject of Psychiatry and the similar topic of Clinical psychology. The study of Psychopathy and how it intertwines with concepts under Antisocial personality disorder were explored in the presented Clinical psychology research.

The concepts on Social psychology presented in it can also apply to other research fields, including Context (language use), Jury, Criminal law and Perception. Developmental psychology and Juvenile delinquency are some topics wherein Injury prevention research discussed in the journal have an impact. Insanity defense is a focus of the Insanity works in the journal.

  • Suicide prevention (31.48%)
  • Human factors and ergonomics (29.32%)
  • Psychiatry (27.03%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Psychopathy and the predictive validity of the PCL-R: an international perspective (527 citations)
  • Reduced Prefrontal and Increased Subcortical Brain Functioning Assessed Using Positron Emission Tomography in Predatory and Affective Murderers (444 citations)
  • (Im)maturity of judgment in adolescence: Why adolescents may be less culpable than adults. (442 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Behavioral Sciences & The Law:

The journal articles cover a variety of subjects, including Psychiatry, Human factors and ergonomics, Suicide prevention, Injury prevention and Social psychology. The works on Psychiatry tackled in the journal articles bring together disciplines like Antisocial personality disorder and Clinical psychology. The most cited articles address concerns in Suicide prevention which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Computer security, Occupational safety and health and Criminology.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • Social psychology
  • Internal medicine

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The scientific interests tackled in Behavioral Sciences & The Law are Homicide, Criminology, Psychopathy, Clinical psychology and Social psychology. The research on Homicide tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Law, Commission, Demography, Developmental psychology and Sex work. Psychopathy research presented in it encompasses a variety of subjects, including Empathy, Antisocial personality disorder and Iowa gambling task.

While the journal focused on Clinical psychology, it was also able to explore topics like Cut score, Crime victims, Floor effect and Legal knowledge. The tackled Social psychology research is interrelated with Cognition which concerns subjects like Threat assessment, Delusion and Bipolar disorder. Issues in Psychiatry were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Prevalence and Empirical evidence.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • The problem with assumptions: Revisiting "The dark figure of sexual recidivism". (1 citations)
  • Making sense of senseless murders: The who, what, when, and where? (1 citations)
  • Cognitive-affective drivers of fixation in threat assessment. (1 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Behavioral Sciences & The Law (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Richard Rogers (31 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Alan R. Felthous (28 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • Alan R. Felthous (23 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • John F. Edens (21 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Alan J. Tomkins (20 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Behavioral Sciences & The Law (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of South Florida (64 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • Saint Louis University (43 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Virginia (42 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Nebraska–Lincoln (41 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Simon Fraser University (32 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 2.38% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 41.46% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 12.20% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 17.07% of all publications and 29.27% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Prospects in Behavioral Sciences & The Law

If you find the scope of research and science discussed in Behavioral Sciences & The Law fascinating, you may be considering a career in this field. As a professional in this field, you could be involved in similar studies and research, thereby contributing to the fields of psychiatry, social psychology, and law, among others.

To start your career in Behavioral Sciences & The Law, you might consider becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). This healthcare professional uses the principles of learning and behavior to help clients with behavior and learning problems. As a BCBA, you could work with various populations, including individuals with disabilities, children, and adults, and in various settings, from schools to private practices and consultancy agencies.

If you live in Pennsylvania, you might want to know how to become a bcba in Pennsylvania online. This guide provides you with a step-by-step process, including the necessary educational requirements, certification process, and potential career paths for a BCBA in Pennsylvania.

By focusing your career on behavioral sciences and law, you can take part in furthering our understanding of these crucial areas of study and contribute to bettering our society. Whether it's conducting research, advising on cases, or publishing in esteemed journals such as Behavioral Sciences & The Law, your work in this field can have a significant impact.

Top Publications

  • Using algorithms to address trade‐offs inherent in predicting recidivism

    Jennifer Skeem;Christopher Lowenkamp

    (2020)
    93 Citations
  • Why do child sexual abuse victims not tell anyone about their abuse? An exploration of factors that prevent and promote disclosure.

    Georgia M Winters;Niki Colombino;Sarah Schaaf;Anniken L W Laake

    (2020)
    40 Citations
  • The dark figure of sexual offending: A replication and extension.

    Alan J Drury;Michael J Elbert;Matt DeLisi

    (2020)
    33 Citations
  • Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias

    Thomas D. Lyon;Shanna Williams;Stacia N. Stolzenberg

    (2020)
    24 Citations
  • Motivational pathways underlying the onset and maintenance of viewing child pornography on the Internet

    Natasha Knack;Dave Holmes;J. Paul Fedoroff

    (2020)
    22 Citations
  • Revenge filicide: An international perspective through 62 cases

    Wade C Myers;Erica Lee;Rose Montplaisir;Emily Lazarou

    (2021)
    16 Citations
  • An examination of the effects of mental disorders as mitigating factors on capital sentencing outcomes.

    Lauren N. Miley;Ellie Heiss‐Moses;John K. Cochran;Kathleen M. Heide

    (2020)
    15 Citations
  • Cognitive-affective drivers of fixation in threat assessment.

    J. Reid Meloy;Tahir Rahman

    (2021)
    13 Citations
  • Does Machiavellianism meaningfully differ from psychopathy? It depends

    Brinkley M. Sharpe;Katherine L. Collison;Donald R. Lynam;Joshua D. Miller

    (2021)
    10 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

For students interested in psychology, several specialized online degrees can open diverse career opportunities. Those drawn to creative healing might explore art therapy programs, which combine psychology and artistic expression to support mental health. These programs prepare graduates for roles in therapeutic and clinical settings.

Another option is pursuing an online MSW programs, ideal for those aiming to become social workers with a focus on community support and individual counseling. Social work professionals often work closely with vulnerable populations, addressing social and psychological challenges.

For a broader psychological foundation, many students turn to a masters in psychology online, which allows flexibility while covering core topics like behavioral science and mental health assessments. These degrees can lead to careers in research, counseling, or human services.

Specializing further, enrolling in a master of mental health online prepares students for clinical counseling roles, focusing on diagnosing and treating mental health disorders. This pathway is essential for becoming a licensed mental health counselor.

Choosing the right degree depends on personal career goals and desired work environments, but online programs provide flexibility and accessibility to advance in the psychology field.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal