Is Evolutionary Psychology a Scientific Revolution? A Bibliometric Analysis

IF 16.4 1区化学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Accounts of Chemical Research Pub Date : 2024-03-16 DOI:10.1007/s40750-024-00234-5

Andrea Zagaria

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Abstract

Objective

The emergence and growth of Evolutionary Psychology (EP) in the behavioral sciences has been characterized as a “scientific revolution” (e.g. Buss, 2020). According to Kuhn's framework, a scientific revolution in a discipline is marked by the emergence of a new, dominant school of thought, which eclipses all the other theories. The aim of this study was to assess quantitatively if EP may be regarded as a "scientific revolution" sensu Kuhn.

Method

I performed a bibliometric analysis of the prevalence of EP (broadly defined) in Psychology, and contrasted it with the prevalence of the socio-cultural approach, known as the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM) (Tooby & Cosmides, 1992).

Results

My analysis reveals that the SSSM enjoys significantly greater prominence than EP and is growing at a swifter pace. My analysis also suggests that a “cultural evolutionary” approach, which integrates evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives, is still underdeveloped.

Conclusions

Despite being sympathetic to the claim that EP can potentially lead to a paradigm shift in the behavioral sciences, I argue that a prudent approach may involve recognizing the current state of affairs, envisioning realistic change, and building a more conceptually and methodologically heterogeneous research community in EP.

Abstract Image

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进化心理学是一场科学革命吗？文献计量分析

目的进化心理学（EP）在行为科学领域的出现和发展被描述为一场 "科学革命"（如 Buss, 2020）。根据库恩的框架，一个学科的科学革命标志着一个新的、占主导地位的思想流派的出现，它使所有其他理论黯然失色。本研究的目的是定量评估 EP 是否可被视为库恩意义上的 "科学革命"。方法我对心理学中 EP（广义）的流行情况进行了文献计量分析，并将其与社会文化方法（即标准社会科学模型（SSSM））的流行情况进行了对比（Tooby & Cosmides, 1992）。结果我的分析表明，SSSM 的地位明显高于 EP，而且其发展速度更快。我的分析还表明，融合了进化论和跨文化视角的 "文化进化 "方法仍未得到充分发展。结论尽管我对EP有可能导致行为科学范式转变的说法表示同情，但我认为，审慎的方法可能包括认识到目前的状况，设想现实的变化，并在EP中建立一个在概念和方法上更加多样化的研究团体。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Accounts of Chemical Research 化学-化学综合

CiteScore

31.40

自引率

1.10%

发文量

312

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance. Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.