Authorities and Research Emphasized in the Annual Review of Psychology, 1975–1998

Abstract

The Annual Review of Psychology, which has been published since 1950, provides a useful profile of post-World War II developments in American psychology. In 1979, Gilgen and Hultman identified the authorities and subject matter areas emphasized in the volumes for the 1950 through 1974 period. The present study extends that investigation through 1998. Based on the earlier analyses, American psychology during the third quarter of the century was characterized by a strong interest in research methodologies and psychometrics, Hullian and then Skinnerian perspectives on learning and conditioning, animal research, the perceptual theory of James J. Gibson, Gestalt inspired social psychology, and the emerging perspective of Carl Rogers on personality and psychopathology. The present work shows that, while psychometrics and methodological matters remained salient, many American psychologists shifted attention to study cognitive processes especially as manifested in social and developmental contexts. Interest in gender and women's studies, gerontological questions, and psychological aspects of both health and sport also accelerated, and many more women were highly (very frequently) cited during the final quarter of the century than during the earlier post-World War II years.