Psychology in action: Psychological classics: Older journal articles frequently cited today.

Abstract

Ever since William James published, in 1876, an article in the first volume of Mind, American psychologists have been publishing at a rapidly expanding rate in an ever increasing number of journals. They continue to do so. While we may grant, for purposes of discussion, that every paper published contributes something of worth, how many of them make contributions that are lasting?We cannot, of course, answer that question for the current contents of psychological journals. But we can look back at the articles these journals were publishing in those long-ago days when some of us, who are today's psychological senior citizens, were graduate students. All of these publications were considered, at least by their authors, to be contributions of some significance. Even in those days it was considered quite necessary to keep up-to-date with advances in the field, and new textbooks were evaluated, partially, on the basis of the recency of publication of the items in their bibliographies. Yet, while this is still true, are there any of the older contributions that have survived? Are there any articles published two and three generations ago that today's psychologists consider worth calling to the attention of their students? In short, are there any psychological classics? And, if so, what are they?

Journals of the Century in Psychology

“…It published a handful of ''psychological classics'' or older items still cited long after their publication, 22 Perception & Psychophysics began publication in 1966 and has continually focused on experimental research in the areas of sensation, perception, judgement, and psychophysics. It has long been a heavily cited journal and has been noted as publishing some articles which had a substantial impact on the psychology of perception.…”

Using Scholarly Journals in Undergraduate Experimental Methodology Courses

“…Although not frequently cited in introductory psychology texts, Tom and Rucker (1975) catches students' attention and illustrates the partitioning of factorial designs, the presentation of descriptive and inferential (ANOVA) statistics, and the graphing of interactive factors. Additional listings of classic articles can be found in LeUnes (1978), McCollom (1973), and Shima (1977). ~, We know from formal course evaluations that many original research reports are interesting t o students and promote their learning about experimental methodology.…”

Modern Classics in Child Development: Authors and Publications

“…McCollom (14), in a survey of 18 general psychology textbooks, identified 28 journal articles as classics in psychology by reason of frequency of citation and a publication date of 1932 or earlier. The list provided an interesting and even provocative look at those articles found meritorious enough, some 40 or more years after their publication, still to warrant citation.…”