The structure and evolution of social psychology: a co-citation network analysis.

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the thematic composition and temporal evolution of social psychology through a co-citation network analysis of 80,350 articles published from 1970 through 2022. Six primary thematic clusters were identified a broad "Classic Social Psychology" cluster most prominent in the 1970s and 1980s; "Traits & Affect" and "Social Cognition" clusters most influential in the 1990s; and "The Self," "Intergroup Relations," and "Big Five" clusters emerging after 2000. A small seventh cluster dedicated to COVID-19 and conspiracy theories emerged around 2021. These trends fit a narrative of generational shifts within distinct social and personality psychology traditions.