Is Evolutionary Psychology a Scientific Revolution? A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Objective The emergence and growth of Evolutionary Psychology (EP) in the behavioral sciences has been characterized as a “scientific revolution” (e.g. Buss, 2020). According to Kuhn's framework, a scientific revolution in a discipline is marked by the emergence of a new, dominant school of thought, which eclipses all the other theories. The aim of this study was to assess quantitatively if EP may be regarded as a "scientific revolution" sensu Kuhn. Method I performed a bibliometric analysis of the prevalence of EP (broadly defined) in Psychology, and contrasted it with the prevalence of the socio-cultural approach, known as the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM) (Tooby & Cosmides, 1992). Results My analysis reveals that the SSSM enjoys significantly greater prominence than EP and is growing at a swifter pace. My analysis also suggests that a “cultural evolutionary” approach, which integrates evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives, is still underdeveloped. Conclusions Despite being sympathetic to the claim that EP can potentially lead to a paradigm shift in the behavioral sciences, I argue that a prudent approach may involve recognizing the current state of affairs, envisioning realistic change, and building a more conceptually and methodologically heterogeneous research community in EP.

Bayesian versus Frequentist approaches in Psychometrics: a bibliometric analysis

“…We investigated the online database PsycINFO (see also [4,9,11,12,[14][15][16]). In particular, our focus was directed at three primary sources: the Journal of Mathematical Psychology (JMP), chosen for its exemplification of Statistical and Mathematical Psychology ( [6]), all papers categorized under "Statistics and Mathematics" by PsycINFO (PsycINFO code 2240); and all papers related to Psychometrics broadly defined according to PyscINFO codes (see [1]).…”