Personality and Social Psychology in the Psychological Abstracts, 1927–1974

Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate the productivity trends of personality and social psychology as reported in the Psychological Abstracts from 1927, the time of its inception, until 1974. The specific problems investigated are (a) the growth in total productivity as reported in the Psychological Abstracts on a year by year basis; (b) the growth in membership of Division 8, the Personality and Social Psychology Division, paralleling the growth of APA membership; (c) productivity trends considered in terms of output per person since 1948. The number of articles appearing in the Psychological Abstracts over the years has increased substantially. In 1934 it was 1096, and in 1974 it was 3547. However, the gains have not been regular and continuous. There have been some peak years and many lean years. The seeming reasons for these fluctuations are discussed. In general, the trend found is that with increasing membership, productivity per person decreases. The findings are preceded by historical orientation of the two areas of knowledge to serve as a frame of reference for interpreting the findings in the light of a historical perspective.