Webster, GD; Jonason, PK; Schember, TO. 2009. Hot Topics and Popular Papers in Evolutionary Psychology: Analyses of Title Words and Citation Counts in Evolution and Human Behavior, 1979-2008. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 7 (3): 348-362.

[Eugene Garfield]

Webster, GD; Jonason, PK; Schember, TO. 2009. Hot Topics and Popular Papers
in Evolutionary Psychology: Analyses of Title Words and Citation Counts in
Evolution and Human Behavior, 1979-2008. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 7 (3):
348-362. DAVIE, EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOL .

Author Full Name(s): Webster, Gregory D.; Jonason, Peter K.; Schember,
Tatiana Orozco

Language: English
Document Type: Article

Abstract: What do evolutionary psychologists study, which are their most
highly cited articles, and which variables predict high citation counts?
These are important questions for any emerging science. To help answer these
questions, we present new empirical research on publication trends in
evolutionary psychology's flagship journal, Evolution and Human Behavior
(and its predecessor, Ethology and Sociobiology), from its inception in 1979
to 2008. First, analyses of 8,631 title words published in these journals
between 1979 and 2008 (808 articles) show an increasing interest in
researching sex, sex differences, faces, and attractiveness. For example,
during the Ethology and Sociobiology era (1979-1996), the most frequent
title words were "evolutionary," "human," "behavior," "reproductive,"
"evolution," "selection," and "altruism," whereas during the Evolution and
Human Behavior era (1997-2008), they were "sex," "attractiveness,"
"differences," "sexual," "human," "male," and "facial." Second, we reveal
the 20 most-cited articles in these journals, which show the importance of
research teams. Third, citation analyses for these journals between 1979 and
2002 (562 articles) suggest articles that cite more references are in turn
cited more themselves (r = .44, R-2 = .19). Lastly, we summarize recent
research that suggests evolutionary psychology is not only surviving, but
also thriving, as a new interdisciplinary science.

Addresses: [Webster, Gregory D.; Schember, Tatiana Orozco] Univ Florida,
Dept Psychol, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA; [Jonason, Peter K.] New Mexico
State Univ, Dept Psychol, Las Cruces, NM 88003 USA

Reprint Address: Webster, GD, Univ Florida, Dept Psychol, Gainesville, FL
32611 USA.

E-mail Address: gdwebs at gmail.com; pjonason at nmsu.edu; tschember at ufl.edu
ISSN: 1474-7049