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Political Psychology
H-index 29

Political Psychology

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Political Science 23 49 61 21
Psychology 198 109 105 25

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 176
Documents by Best Scientists*: 168
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 9
SCIMAGO H-index: 125
SCIMAGO SJR: 2.047
Impact Factor: 3.5

Overview

Top Research Topics at Political Psychology?

Political Psychology mostly deals with topics like Social psychology, Politics, Law, Ideology and Political psychology. In addition to Social psychology research, Political Psychology aims to explore topics under Voting, Authoritarianism and Perception. Topics in Politics explored in the journal were investigated in conjunction with research in Epistemology, Social science, Political economy and Gender studies.

Social identity theory research presented falls under the umbrella topic of Identity (social science).

  • Social psychology (49.75%)
  • Politics (36.53%)
  • Law (9.99%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • A Decade of System Justification Theory: Accumulated Evidence of Conscious and Unconscious Bolstering of the Status Quo (1721 citations)
  • Toward a measure of patriotic and nationalistic attitudes. (761 citations)
  • The Secret Lives of Liberals and Conservatives: Personality Profiles, Interaction Styles, and the Things They Leave Behind (687 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Political Psychology:

The journal papers primarily tackle Social psychology, Politics, Ideology, Authoritarianism and Social identity theory. The journal publications with studies in Social psychology featured incorporate elements of Epistemology, Cognition and Public opinion. The most cited papers tackle studies in Positive economics and the interrelated subject of Prospect theory to gain insights into Politics.

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

  • Law
  • World War II
  • Social psychology

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal explores disciplines such as Social psychology, Politics, Social identity theory, Criminology and Ideology. The presented research on Social psychology deals specifically with Context (language use) but it also addresses topics in Political psychology. While Politics is the focus of the journal, it also provided insights into the studies of Social psychology (sociology), Gender studies and China.

Some problems in Social identity theory that were presented in Political Psychology overlapped with concepts under Climate change and Hostility. Political Psychology addresses concerns in Criminology which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Disengagement theory and Terrorism. Most of the Ideology studies addressed also intersect with Vulnerability.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • The Paranoid Style in American Politics Revisited: An Ideological Asymmetry in Conspiratorial Thinking (24 citations)
  • Harnessing Shared Identities to Mobilize Resilient Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic. (6 citations)
  • How Emotional Are Populists Really? Factors Explaining Emotional Appeals in the Communication of Political Parties (6 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 Political Psychology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Jim Sidanius (20 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Peter Suedfeld (19 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Philip E. Tetlock (17 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Jerrold M. Post (16 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • John Duckitt (15 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 Political Psychology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Michigan (45 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 3 less than at the previous edition,
  • Stony Brook University (40 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • Ohio State University (32 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Harvard University (30 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition,
  • New York University (27 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 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, 1.08% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 11.96% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 11.96% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 19.57% of all publications and 56.52% 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 Paths in Political Psychology

While our focus is largely on the research and academic aspects of political psychology, it's also important to understand the potential career paths in this field. Those interested in political psychology can leverage their knowledge and skills in a variety of professional settings. This includes roles in research institutions, academia, governmental bodies, or non-profit organisations. Career opportunities can also emerge in related fields like social work, law, or journalism where a deep understanding of political behavior and thought processes is invaluable.

One such career path is in education as a school librarian, where one can apply the knowledge of political psychology to recommend literature that help students understand the intersection of politics and psychology. This may be especially relevant in states like Arizona, where political debates are vibrant and common. Learning about how to research, analyze, and comprehend political information accurately becomes crucial. If you are interested in combining the fields of education and political psychology, become a school librarian in Arizona might be an excellent career path for you. Find out more about how to get started on this path how to be a school librarian in Arizona.

In conclusion, studying political psychology opens the door to numerous career opportunities where you can apply your knowledge to make a significant impact.

Top Publications

  • The Paranoid Style in American Politics Revisited: An Ideological Asymmetry in Conspiratorial Thinking

    Sander van der Linden;Costas Panagopoulos;Flávio Azevedo;Flávio Azevedo;Flávio Azevedo;John T. Jost

    (2021)
    291 Citations
  • Hate Speech Epidemic. The Dynamic Effects of Derogatory Language on Intergroup Relations and Political Radicalization

    Michał Bilewicz;Wiktor Soral

    (2020)
    221 Citations
  • Conspiracy Theories and Institutional Trust: Examining the Role of Uncertainty Avoidance and Active Social Media Use

    Silvia Mari;Homero Gil de Zúñiga;Homero Gil de Zúñiga;Homero Gil de Zúñiga;Ahmet Suerdem;Katja Hanke

    (2021)
    139 Citations
  • They Might Be a Liar But They’re My Liar: Source Evaluation and the Prevalence of Misinformation

    Briony Swire-Thompson;Ullrich K. H. Ecker;Stephan Lewandowsky;Adam J. Berinsky

    (2020)
    100 Citations
  • Harnessing Shared Identities to Mobilize Resilient Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Vivian L. Vignoles;Zahira Jaser;Frankiebo Taylor;Evangelos Ntontis

    (2021)
    86 Citations
  • When and How Different Motives Can Drive Motivated Political Reasoning

    Robin Bayes;James N. Druckman;Avery Goods;Daniel C. Molden

    (2020)
    84 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal