The Decade 1989–1998 in Spanish Psychology: An Analysis of Research in Psychobiology

Abstract

In this paper, we present an analysis of the research published during the 1989-1998 decade by tenured Spanish faculty members from the area of psychobiology. Database search and direct correspondence with the 110 faculty members rendered a list of 904 psychobiological papers. Classification and analysis of these papers led to the definition of at least 70 different research trends. Topics are grouped into several specific research areas: Learning and Memory; Development and Neural Plasticity; Emotion and Stress; Ethology; Neuropsychology; Sensory Processing; and Psychopharmacology. The international dissemination of this research, published in journals of high impact index, and the increasing number of papers are two noteworthy features.En este estudio se analiza la investigación publicada en la década 1989-1998 por los profesores numerarios españoles del área de la psicobiología. La búsqueda en las bases de datos y correspondencia directa con los 110 profesores dio como resultado una lista de 904 artículos publicados de psicobiología. La clasificación y análisis de estos artículos llevó a la definición de al menos 70 líneas de investigación diferentes. Se agrupan los temas en varias áreas de investigación: aprendizaje y memoria; desarrollo y plasticidad neuronal; emoción y estrés; etología; neuropsicología; procesamiento sensorial; y psicofarmacología. La proyección internacional de esta investigación, publicada en revistas de alto índice de impacto, y el número creciente de artículos son dos características importantes.

Scientific Production in Psychology

“…Pfrang and Schneider (2006), make a comparative study of the situation of German Psychology in relation to other countries in Europe, and Hadjistavropoulos (2009), a similar comparison of the impact of Canadian Psychology with respect to other G8 countries. García Pérez (2001), and De Tejada and Tedó (2001), address psychological research in Spain distinguishing by specialization, and García Martínez et al (2008aMartínez et al ( , 2008bMartínez et al ( , 2009, consider the same topic in Spain and Latin America. Shortening the context even further, Krampen (2008), evaluate university Psychology Departments based on citation analysis, and Mahoney, Buboltz, Calvert, & Hoffmann (2010), give an overview of the production of Psychology's institutions through a publication's analysis in journals of the American Psychology Association.…”