Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Top Research Topics at Journal of Personality and Social Psychology?

The main research concerns discussed in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology are Social psychology, Developmental psychology, Personality, Social perception and Cognition. Social psychology research presented in it encompasses a variety of subjects, including Cognitive psychology and Social cognition. It focuses on Developmental psychology but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Affect (psychology), Personality development and Anxiety.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology features Personality research that overlaps with concepts in Trait. The Social perception study featured falls within the larger field of Perception. The study on Interpersonal relationship presented is investigated in conjunction with research in Interpersonal communication.

• Social psychology (98.86%)
• Developmental psychology (28.08%)
• Personality (16.81%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. (63931 citations)
• Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. (27126 citations)
• A CIRCUMPLEX MODEL OF AFFECT (9235 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Journal of Personality and Social Psychology:

The journal papers are organized to reinforce research efforts on Social psychology, Developmental psychology, Personality, Social perception and Social relation. The published papers focus on Social psychology but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Cognition and Social cognition. The most cited articles hold forums on Developmental psychology that merge themes from other disciplines such as Coping (psychology), Social support, Feeling and Mood.

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

• Social psychology
• World War II
• Cognition

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal explores disciplines such as Social psychology, PsycINFO, Personality, Interpersonal relationship and Context (language use). Social psychology research discussed connects with the study of Social perception. The research on PsycINFO tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Longitudinal study, Perception, Value (ethics), Variance (accounting) and Social cognition.

Research on Personality addressed in the journal frequently intersections with the field of Openness to experience. While Big Five personality traits is the key highlight in the journal, it also covered some subjects on Trait and Personality development. The work on Outgroup tackled in the journal brings together disciplines like Ingroups and outgroups, Prejudice (legal term) and In-group favoritism, Social identity theory.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Using 26,000 diary entries to show ovulatory changes in sexual desire and behavior (35 citations)
• Testing Prospective Effects in Longitudinal Research: Comparing Seven Competing Cross-Lagged Models (30 citations)
• Reasoning supports utilitarian resolutions to moral dilemmas across diverse measures. (23 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.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (based on the number of publications) are:

• Richard E. Petty (59 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Ed Diener (57 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Robert S. Wyer (52 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Roy F. Baumeister (50 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Jeffry A. Simpson (43 papers) published 1 paper 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.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (based on the number of publications) are:

• Stanford University (298 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition, 4 more than at the previous edition,
• University of Michigan (234 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• University of California, Berkeley (208 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition,
• Northwestern University (207 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 3 less than at the previous edition,
• Harvard University (199 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous 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, 38.10% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 35.04% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 7.69% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 11.97% of all publications and 45.30% 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 as a Psychologist

One of the most sought-after career paths in these research areas is becoming a psychologist. Psychologists in the field of social and personality psychology utilize their understanding of human behaviour in dealing with the complexities linked to human interaction and personality traits. In practicing as a psychologist, licensing requirements and standards do vary across different regions. For instance, becoming a psychologist in the state of Alaska requires meeting specific licensure requirements. The rigorous application process includes meeting certain education prerequisites, obtaining substantial experience under supervision, and achieving successful results in the appropriate examination. Applicants will most often need a doctoral degree in psychology, an internship, and at least 1 to 2 years of professional experience. In addition, they must pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology. For further details on these requirements, one may consider viewing the page of how to be a psychologist in Alaska. Generally, the requirements in Alaska are also aligned with those required by most states, making the transition to becoming a psychologist elsewhere a relatively straightforward process. Therefore, professionals can utilize their skills in different states and regions, contributing to the communities they choose to serve in with the goal of improving overall public mental health.