WEIRD psychological science - geographical patterns of knowledge production

Abstract We examined gender and geographical patterns of authorship ( N = 1,273,571) across psychology journals listed in Scopus ( N = 1,398) depending on their citation impact for 4 consecutive years (from 2020 to 2023). We observed gender balance and a dominance of authors from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) countries in the authors sample ( N = 921,411). The percentage of WEIRD authors varied as a function of journals’ impact, so that more WEIRD authors published in higher impact journals, and were more probable to be in a first and last authors position. Our findings show that while more authors from underrepresented regions are contributing to psychological journals, journals with higher prestige tend to have fewer of these authors. We also argue that the apparent 50/50 gender balance observed may still reflect representation bias, that is, an inadequate number of women as authors given base rates of their professional participation in psychology. These insights are crucial for fostering a more inclusive and representative field of psychology, which can lead to more equitable research practices and better outcomes for diverse populations.