World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Social Development
H-index 19

Social Development

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Psychology 345 207 199 18

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 222
Documents by Best Scientists*: 210
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 11
SCIMAGO H-index: 114
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.946
Impact Factor: 1.9

Overview

Top Research Topics at Social Development?

The journal generally zeroes in on subjects such as Developmental psychology, Social psychology, Aggression, Clinical psychology and Social change. Prosocial behavior is a focus of the Developmental psychology works in it. Social Development explores research in Social psychology and the adjacent study of Perception.

Aggression research discussed connects with the study of Human factors and ergonomics. The research on Clinical psychology tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Injury prevention and Suicide prevention.

  • Developmental psychology (98.50%)
  • Social psychology (32.49%)
  • Aggression (12.65%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • The Role of the Family Context in the Development of Emotion Regulation (1472 citations)
  • Developmental science in the 21st century: Emerging questions, theoretical models, research designs and empirical findings. (736 citations)
  • The Nature of Social Competence: A Theoretical Review (604 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Social Development:

The journal articles investigate studies in Developmental psychology, Social psychology, Aggression, Clinical psychology and Social change. Theory of mind, Social competence and Friendship are some topics wherein Developmental psychology research discussed in the most cited publications has an impact. The journal articles with studies in Social psychology featured incorporate elements of Social skills and Social cognition.

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

  • Social psychology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Social science

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Developmental psychology, Middle childhood, Socialization, Theory of mind and Early childhood are among the topics commonly tackled in Social Development. Social Development explores issues in Developmental psychology which can be linked to other research areas like Context (language use), Social psychology, Relation (history of concept), Social cognition and Ethnic group. The Early childhood study tackled is a key component of adjacent topics in the area of Socioemotional selectivity theory.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Halo and association effects: Cognitive biases in teacher attunement to peer‐nominated bullies, victims, and prosocial students (5 citations)
  • Sensitivity to facial emotional expressions and peer relationship problems in Chinese rural‐to‐urban migrant early adolescents: An exploratory study (4 citations)
  • Time alone well spent? A person-centered analysis of adolescents' solitary activities (3 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 Social Development (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Antonius H. N. Cillessen (23 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Nancy Eisenberg (21 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Robert J. Coplan (16 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Gustavo Carlo (15 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • Tracy L. Spinrad (14 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.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Social Development (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Arizona State University (49 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition,
  • Pennsylvania State University (49 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Minnesota (33 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Maryland, College Park (30 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Radboud University Nijmegen (28 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 1 more 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, 0.00% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 14.47% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 15.79% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 21.05% of all publications and 48.68% 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.

How to Get Started in Psychology Research in Michigan

If you are interested in conducting psychology research or desire to contribute to the field of Developmental or Social psychology, becoming a licensed psychologist is a crucial step. In Michigan, various requirements must be met, including obtaining a doctorate degree in Psychology, completing a certain amount of supervised professional experience, and passing the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). The specifics of these criteria can vary, so it is essential to familiarize yourself with the exact licensure requirements in the state.

Besides licensing, having a solid understanding of main research topics in the field, such as emotional regulation, theory of mind, and social cognition, is exceedingly valuable. Regularly engaging in scientific literature allows you to stay updated on recent findings and understand the direction of ongoing investigations.

For those in Michigan who intend to delve into the world of psychology research, acquiring the necessary licensing is a key milestone in your professional journey. Find more in-depth information on how to become a psychologist in Michigan and make your aspirations become a reality.

Top Publications

  • The role of antenatal and postnatal maternal bonding in infant development: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

    Genevieve A Le Bas;George J Youssef;George J Youssef;Jacqueline A Macdonald;Jacqueline A Macdonald;Larissa Rossen;Larissa Rossen

    (2020)
    112 Citations
  • Theory of mind and peer relationships: The role of social anxiety

    Luca Ronchi;Robin Banerjee;Serena Lecce

    (2020)
    68 Citations
  • Evaluation of a Longitudinal Family Stress Model in a Population-Based Cohort

    Arianna M Gard;Vonnie C McLoyd;Colter Mitchell;Luke W Hyde

    (2020)
    58 Citations
  • The classroom relational environment and children’s early development in preschool

    Tutrang Nguyen;Arya Ansari;Robert C. Pianta;Jessica V. Whittaker

    (2020)
    51 Citations
  • What You Say, and How You Say It: Preschoolers’ Growth in Vocabulary and Communication Skills Differentially Predict Kindergarten Academic Achievement and Self‐Regulation

    K. Ashana Ramsook;Janet A. Welsh;Karen L. Bierman

    (2020)
    38 Citations
  • Equality, equity, or inequality duplication? How preschoolers distribute necessary and luxury resources between rich and poor others

    Samuel Essler;Anja C. Lepach;Franz Petermann;Markus Paulus

    (2020)
    36 Citations
  • Time alone well spent? A person-centered analysis of adolescents' solitary activities

    Will E. Hipson;Robert J. Coplan;Morgan Dufour;Katherine R. Wood

    (2021)
    32 Citations
  • Culture, parenting, and language: Respeto in Latine mother-child interactions.

    Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda;Margaret O.Brien Caughy;Raúl Rojas;Roger Bakeman

    (2020)
    29 Citations
  • Mothers' interoceptive knowledge predicts children's emotion regulation and social skills in middle childhood

    Jennifer K. MacCormack;Vanessa L. Castro;Amy G. Halberstadt;Megan L. Rogers

    (2020)
    27 Citations
  • The Structure of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Adolescence: Differential Links to Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

    Lysanne W. te Brinke;Ankie T.A. Menting;Hilde D. Schuiringa;Janice Zeman

    (2020)
    26 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal