One-Hundred and Thirty-One Years of Developmental Science Published in the Journal of Genetic Psychology

Some years ago, I (G.E.) was interested in the genetic mechanisms underlying early social interactions. As part of this project, I conducted a study to explore how serotonin receptor genes might influence the manifestation of social behaviors and prepared a manuscript that was submitted to The Journal of Genetic Psychology, as it seemed like an ideal venue for a study merging genetic and psychological factors. However, to my surprise, I received notification that the article did not align with the journal’s scope, as The Journal of Genetic Psychology does not typically feature genetic studies. After conducting some research into the journal’s history, I discovered that the term ‘Genetic’ in its name does not correspond to the modern usage in genetics. Instead, it is used as a synonym of ‘development’. Established in 1891 by Granville Stanley Hall, The Journal of Genetic Psychology holds the distinction of being the first scholarly journal dedicated to publications in the field of developmental psychology. Over more than a century, The Journal of Genetic Psychology has remained true to its original aims and scope, focusing on research and theory within the field of developmental psychology (Taylor & Francis Group, 2024). One notable aspect of the journal is its emphasis on a life-span approach in publishing works related to developmental psychology (Taylor & Francis Group, 2024). This approach underscores the importance of considering and studying all phases of life in psychology, acknowledging that development occurs throughout an individual’s entire lifespan.

As of January 1, 2024, I started serving as Editor–in-Chief for the journal, and I aim to use this first editorial to offer a historical perspective on the journal and to clarify the journal’s name and scope. Written with the help of Jeffrey Gagne and Nina Mounts (Associate Editors), and Alessandro Carollo (newly appointed Junior Editorial Assistant), we aim to examine the literature published by The Journal of Genetic Psychology through a data-driven approach, identifying influential documents and prevalent thematic research domains. To do so, our research adopts a data-driven scientometric approach. The scientometric approach has the advantage of merging scientific mapping (i.e. the visualization of the temporal evolution of a research domain) and bibliometric analysis (i.e. the application of quantitative techniques to bibliometric data) (Carollo et al., 2023).

Materials and methods

The current study employs the standard scientometric methodology employed in previously published scientometric analyses (e.g. Carollo et al., 2023).

All documents published by The Journal of Genetic Psychology were retrieved from Scopus on January 10 2024 by using the string SRCTITLE (‘Journal of genetic psychology’). A sample of 5,966 documents was collected (see Figure 1). Available documents were published between 1924 and 2024. A preliminary analysis of author affiliations’ countries suggested that most of the contributions to The Journal of Genetic Psychology involved authors from the United States of America (see Figure 2). However, many world countries across continents were represented in The Journal of Genetic Psychology.

Figure 1. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flowchart of literature search, references eligibility, and network generation.

Figure 2. World map representing the frequency with which specific countries appear in the affiliation strings of all contributions to the Journal of Genetic Psychology. The image was generated using the ggplot package for R (Wickham, 2006).

The sample of 5966 documents included a total of 71,547 references. Of the total number of references, 67,784 were in the valid format to be processed by CiteSpace (see Figure 1; 6.2.R6, 64-bit Advanced) (Chen, 2006).

We conducted a document co-citation analysis (DCA) (Small, 1980) on the valid references. DCA creates a network using the single documents as nodes and their co-citations (i.e. times in which the documents were cited together by other documents) as edges (Trujillo & Long, 2018). In the DCA, higher co-citation frequency is an index of shared thematic interest among the co-cited documents, and it is used to identify the main thematic interests in the literature (Chen et al., 2010).

To build the DCA network, we used the g-index as the node selection criterion and 5 as the scaling factor. The criterion refers to the ‘largest number that equals the average number of citations of the most highly cited g publications’ (Chen, 2016; Egghe, 2006). The scaling factor sets the threshold for the inclusion of documents. For the analysis, the look-back years’ parameter was set at unlimited to retain all relevant citations, regardless of the publication year.

The results are interpreted using both structural and temporal metrics. Structural metrics, such as modularity, silhouette score, and betweenness centrality, and analyze various aspects of the network’s organization. Modularity assesses the network’s divisibility into distinct modules or clusters (Chen et al., 2010). Silhouette score evaluates the internal consistency and separation of individual clusters within the network (Rousseeuw, 1987). Betweenness centrality measures the degree to which a single node connects two random nodes in the network (Freeman, 1977).

Temporal metrics, on the other hand, focus on aspects related to time and evolution. Citation burstness measures the sudden surge in citations of a publication over time, employing Kleinberg’s algorithm (Kleinberg, 2002). Sigma, another temporal metric, quantifies a publication’s scientific novelty and impact within the network. It is calculated using the formula (centrality + 1) ^burstness (Chen et al., 2010).

Results

The generated DCA network consists of 466 nodes and 567 links (see Figure 1). The network shows high divisibility into separate clusters (modularity = 0.9265), which on average are highly homogeneous (weighted mean silhouette = 0.9857).

The network is divisible into 13 major clusters, representing the main thematic domains of research in The Journal of Genetic Psychology. The largest cluster consists of 25 documents published on average around 1996 and exploring the theme of prosocial behavior. Table 1 reports all the details for the major clusters identified in the network.

Table 1. Details of the 13 major clusters identified with the document co-citation analysis (DCA). Log-Likelihood Ratio (LLR) label is automatically generated by the software.

ID	Size	Silhouette	Mean year	LLR label	Suggested label
0	25	0.995	1996	Prosocial behavior	Prosocial behavior
1	22	0.984	1966	Moral judgment	Concrete operational stage
2	18	0.979	1987	Nuyorican adolescent	Antisocial behaviors
3	17	0.964	1996	Maternal separation anxiety	Early interactions
4	16	0.973	1997	Emerging adulthood	Emerging adulthood
5	16	1.000	1997	Parental undifferentiated rejection	Parental behaviors
6	13	1.000	1963	Attentional preference	Cognition
7	12	0.955	1974	Sex bias	Gender roles
8	11	1.000	1982	Adolescent psychological well-being	Adolescents
9	10	1.000	1994	Elementary school children	Social development
10	9	1.000	2008	Early childhood	Sleep
13	7	1.000	1990	Rican urban young adult	Substance use
15	5	0.969	1996	Parent	Aggressive behavior

In the DCA network, eight documents show a citation burst (see Table 2), indicating that they were particularly relevant for and heavily cited by documents published by The Journal of Genetic Psychology. The document with the strongest citation burst was published by Winer (1962), and it focused on the statistical principles of experimental design. The following documents in terms of citation burst were authored by Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) and by Piaget (1932). These documents testify to the high interest in gender differences and in moral development by the documents in The Journal of Genetic Psychology.

Table 2. Describing metrics of the eight documents with a citation burst.

Reference	Citation burst	Year	Burst begin	Burst end	Duration	Centrality	Sigma
Winer (1962)	14.69	1969	1970	1978	8	0.03	1.52
Maccoby and Jacklin (1974)	12.37	1974	1979	1996	17	0.08	2.74
Piaget (1932)	8.92	1932	1976	1982	6	0.02	1.20
Hoffman (2000)	7.11	2000	2007	2022	15	0.11	2.17
Flavell (1963)	5.85	1963	1970	1981	11	0.02	1.14
Piaget (1969)	5.12	1969	1976	1984	8	0.00	1.00
Winer (1971)	4.92	1971	1975	1979	4	0.00	1.00
Kohlberg (1969)	4.69	1969	1979	1983	4	0.01	1.04

Discussion

The present study used a scientometric methodology to identify the primary thematic patterns within the body of literature published by The Journal of Genetic Psychology. A total of 13 major thematic clusters were identified and will be elaborated upon in subsequent sections. These clusters will be addressed in chronological order based on the average publication year of the documents they encompass (see Figure 3 for the temporal evolution and reciprocal influence of clusters). Each cluster will be accompanied by an analysis of its key citing documents, including their coverage (i.e. the number of cited documents referenced in the paper) and global citing score (GCS; i.e. the total number of citations of said paper according to Scopus).

Figure 3. Timeline representation of the major thematic clusters identified in the literature published by the Journal of Genetic Psychology through a document co-citation analysis.

Cluster #6: cognition

The earliest cluster of research, cluster #6, includes documents published on average around 1963. The major citing documents were authored by Brannigan and Tolor (1971) (coverage = 4; GCS = 20) and by Uzgiris and Hunt (1970) (coverage = 4; GCS = 17). Altogether, the documents included in the cluster focus on how cognitive factors (e.g. locus of control, attention) influence an individual’s behavior. To explore the relationship between cognition and behavior, the documents frequently cited the works by Rotter (1966) and Hebb (1949).

Cluster #1: concrete operational stage

The following group of documents is cluster #1, which focuses on Piaget’s concrete operational stage and its pivotal features (e.g. moral development, egocentrism). The main citing documents were authored by Hooper et al. (1979) (coverage = 4; GCS = 5), by DeRemer and Gruen (1979) (coverage = 4; GCS = 1), and by Gladstone (1981) (coverage = 4; GCS = 2). To investigate the concrete operational stage, the documents published by The Journal of Genetic Psychology frequently based their work on and cited the publications by Flavell (1963) and Piaget (1932).

Cluster #7: gender roles

Cluster #7 includes works published on average in 1974. The main citing documents from The Journal of Genetic Psychology were authored by Juni et al. (1985) (coverage = 4; GCS = 12) and by McDonald (1989) (coverage = 4; GCS = 24). This cluster of publications focuses on gender role development and their representation in society. This interest also emerges from the cited references (e.g. Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974).

Cluster #8: adolescents

Cluster #8 includes 11 documents, which revolve around the theme of adolescents’ well-being. The major citing documents were authored by Shek (1997b) (coverage = 5; GCS = 72), Shek (1997a) (coverage = 4; GCS = 82), and Shek (1998) (coverage = 4; GCS = 120). In these documents, the relationship with parents and the familial context was often investigated to explain adolescents’ well-being. As a basis for the citing documents, the cited publications explored the use of questionnaires to assess individuals’ well-being (e.g. Radloff, 1977).

Cluster #2 and cluster #13: antisocial behaviors

Both documents in clusters #2 and #3 investigate the topic of substance abuse and antisocial behaviors, as well as their predicting factors. The major citing documents in cluster #2 were authored by Brook et al. (2004) (coverage = 6; GCS = 16) and Brook et al. (2001) (coverage = 5; GCS = 71), and explored the risk factors for tobacco and marijuana use in adolescents. The cited references cover the literature on personality factors (e.g. Brook et al. (1986); Stricker (1974)) and adolescents’ mental health Cohen and Cohen (1996).

In cluster #13, the major citing documents were authored by Cleveland et al. (2005) (coverage 4; GCS = 102) and Brook et al. (2005) (coverage = 4; GCS = 21). Cited documents in cluster #13 use both environmental and genetic factors to explain substance abuse and antisocial behaviors (e.g. Ennett & Bauman, 1994; Scarr & McCartney, 1983).

Cluster #9: social development

Documents included in cluster #9 investigate the development of social and emotional competencies across the lifespan, in particular with a focus on the development of leadership skills. The major citing documents were authored by Scharf and Mayseless (2009) (coverage = 7; GCS = 12) and by Popper and Amit (2009) (coverage = 6; GCS = 8). Similarly, the cited references refer to people’s social development throughout the lifespan (e.g. Englund et al., 2000; Grossmann et al., 1999; Hazan & Shaver, 1987).

Cluster #3: early interactions

Cluster #3 consists of 17 documents that focus on the role of early interactions in influencing children’s mental health. The major citing documents were authored by Lutz and Hock (1995) (coverage = 4; GCS = 31), Metin Aslan (2018) (coverage = 4; GCS = 4), Bernier et al. (2014) (coverage = 4; GCS = 18), and Deschênes et al. (2014) (coverage = 4; GCS = 8). Given the focus on early social interactions, seminal documents for the attachment theory framework were often cited (e.g. Ainsworth et al., 1978; Bowlby, 1969).

Cluster #15: aggressive behavior

Cluster #15 includes five documents and is therefore the smallest among the major clusters in the network. The major citing publications were authored by Gasser et al. (2012) (coverage = 3; GCS = 31) and by Werner (2012) (coverage = 3; GCS = 17). In both the citing and cited references (e.g. Crick & Grotpeter, 1995; De Castro et al., 2002), the thematic focus of the cluster is the exploration of the cognitive factors underlying aggressive behaviors in social interactions.

Cluster #0: prosocial behavior

The largest cluster of the network, cluster #0, includes 25 documents that investigate the topic of empathy and prosocial behaviors. The major citing documents were authored by Mestre et al. (2015) (coverage = 8; GCS = 14), by Hinnant and O’Brien (2007) (coverage = 7; GCS = 44), and by Carlo et al. (2007) (coverage = 7; GCS = 132). Similarly, also the citing documents investigated moral development and prosocial behavior (e.g. Hoffman, 2000).

Cluster #4: emerging adulthood

Documents in cluster #4 investigate the influential factors (e.g. relationships, family context) for the developmental phase of late adolescence and emerging adulthood. The major citing documents were authored by Etkin et al. (2022) (coverage = 4; GCS = 4), by Davis et al. (2022) (coverage = 4; GCS = 1), and by Gülseven et al. (2022) (coverage = 4; GCS = 0). These documents stem from other cited documents regarding the influence of the social world on adolescents’ mental health and construction of the self (e.g. Fu et al., 2017; Rosenberg, 1965).

Cluster #5: parental behavior

The second most recent cluster of research was cluster #5. The major citing documents were authored by Klanjšek et al. (2023) (coverage = 4; GCS = 1) and Ali et al. (2023) (coverage = 4; GCS = 1). The citing and cited documents (e.g. Baumrind, 1991) in the cluster explored the influence of parenting on children’s life, personality, and well-being.

Cluster #10: sleep

The most recent cluster, cluster #10, includes nine documents covering the topic of sleep in development. The major citing documents were authored by Hoyniak et al. (2021) (coverage = 5; GCS = 3), by Schlieber and Han (2021) (coverage = 3; GCS = 13), and by Mason et al. (2021) (coverage = 3; GCS = 5). These studies frequently developed from cited references that discuss the use of novel methods to assess sleep quality and quantity (e.g. actigraphy in Meltzer et al. (2012)), and the role of sleep in child development (e.g. Mindell & Williamson, 2018).

Conclusion

The present editorial provided a historical perspective into the literature published by The Journal of Genetic Psychology using a data-driven approach on a sample of 71,547 references. Preliminary analysis revealed extensive representation of various countries by authors contributing to documents submitted to The Journal of Genetic Psychology. This diversity is now reflected and encouraged within the new editorial board, comprising 54 editors hailing from 24 different countries and six continents (Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania).

Moreover, the most influential documents and the major thematic domains of research were outlined in the scientometric analysis. In agreement with the journal’s aim and scope, the inspection of the thematic clusters revealed a strong interest in characterizing human development using a life-span approach. The thematic clusters span several phases of life, such as Piaget’s concrete operational stage, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. Moreover, although the development of social and anti-social behaviors is predominant in the published literature, other themes like gender role development, cognitive development, and sleep were explored. The current manuscript underscores the holistic and life-span approach of The Journal of Genetic Psychology in fostering the comprehension of how individuals develop throughout their life.

Alessandro Carollo
Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
Jeffrey R. Gagne
Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
Nina S. Mounts
Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Gianluca Esposito
Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
[email protected]

Acknowledgements

We thank Seraphina Fong for proofreading and editing the article.

Data availability statement

Data are available upon request to the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Alessandro Carollo

Alessandro Carollo is a second year Ph.D. student at the University of Trento and Junior Assistant Editor for The Journal of Genetic Psychology. He focuses on employing advanced cognitive neuroscience methods alongside artificial intelligence to explore the underlying mechanisms of social interactions across human development.

Jeffrey R. Gagne

Jeffrey R. Gagne is Associate Professor and Yates Faculty Fellow in the Department of Educational Psychology and Assistant Dean of Faculty Success in the School of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. His research explores child temperament, emotion, cognition, education, and health, often integrating genetic and biological approaches. Jeffrey is an Associate Editor for The Journal of Genetic Psychology.

Nina S. Mounts

Nina S. Mounts is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the Northern Illinois University. Nina’s research focus lies in the social development of children from early childhood to adolescence, particularly in understanding parent-child and peer relationships. Lately, Nina has focused on the connection between parenting and peer dynamics, investigating how parents influence the peer interactions of young adolescents. Nina is an Associate Editor for The Journal of Genetic Psychology.

Gianluca Esposito

Gianluca Esposito is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Trento and the Editor in Chief of The Journal of Genetic Psychology. He is a developmental clinical psychologist qualified to investigate child socio-cognitive development while contributing strengths in human electrophysiology, neuroimaging, complex data modeling, and comparative physiological assessment with the aim of studying Social Interactions.