Journal rankings · indicator year 2020
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2020
Social Psychology journal rankings 2020
199 ranked journals · Subfield in Psychology
Social Psychology has 199 ranked journals in 2020. The median journal has an OJR of 0.99, below the world average of 1.00, down 0.04 on 2019; Q1 starts at OJR 1.55. The top three are Perspectives on Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Review of General Psychology.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2020. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2017–2019, the window the 2020 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Psychology (7)
199 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2019. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2017–2019, the window the 2020 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2017–2019 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2011 to 2020. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Perspectives on Psychological ScienceSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 7.97Q1 | 14.35 1.16 up from 2019 | 264 | 44% | $3,900 | ||
2Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyAmerican Psychological Association · United States | 5.92Q1 | 9.60 2.20 up from 2019 | 375 | 32% | — | ||
3Review of General PsychologySAGE Publishing · United States | 3.95Q1 | 5.92 1.29 up from 2019 | 99 | 34% | $3,900 | ||
4Journal of Counseling PsychologyAmerican Psychological Association · United States | 3.51Q1 | 4.78 0.02 up from 2019 | 209 | 13% | — | ||
5Motivation ScienceAmerican Psychological Association · United States | 3.16Q1 | 6.25 3.00 up from 2019 | 109 | 24% | — | ||
6Transgender HealthMary Ann Liebert, Inc. · United States | 2.87Q1 | 4.48 0.54 down from 2019 | 101 | 96% | — | ||
7Women & TherapyTaylor & Francis · United States | 2.85Q1 | 1.49 0.93 up from 2019 | 84 | 12% | — | ||
8Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological SciencesRoyal Society · United Kingdom | 2.70Q1 | 6.78 0.17 up from 2019 | 1,247 | 97% | — | ||
9Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender DiversityAmerican Psychological Association · United States | 2.70Q1 | 4.77 1.69 up from 2019 | 133 | 33% | — | ||
10LGBT HealthMary Ann Liebert, Inc. · United States | 2.65Q1 | 5.32 0.74 up from 2019 | 170 | 58% | — | ||
11Journal of Cross-Cultural PsychologySAGE Publishing · United States | 2.61Q1 | 3.55 0.53 up from 2019 | 238 | 27% | $3,650 | ||
12Emotion ReviewSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 2.60Q1 | 4.65 0.65 down from 2019 | 127 | 26% | $3,900 | ||
13International Journal of Educational PsychologyOAHipatia Press · Spain | 2.39Q1 | 3.06 1.36 up from 2019 | 50 | 100% | $431 | ||
14Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical PsychologyAmerican Psychological Association · United States | 2.27Q1 | 3.47 2.77 up from 2019 | 80 | 8% | — | ||
15International Journal of Mental Health SystemsOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 2.24Q1 | 4.16 0.84 up from 2019 | 219 | 100% | $3,590 | ||
16International Journal of Human-Computer InteractionTaylor & Francis · United States | 2.21Q1 | 4.45 1.51 up from 2019 | 343 | 28% | — | ||
17Transportation Research Part F Traffic Psychology and BehaviourElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.20Q1 | 4.70 1.52 up from 2019 | 760 | 34% | $2,780 | ||
18International Journal of Bullying PreventionSpringer Science+Business Media · Switzerland | 2.20Q1 | 2.93 1.43 up from 2019 | 55 | 54% | $3,290 | ||
19International Journal of TransgenderismTaylor & Francis · Germany | 2.17Q1 | 5.57 1.36 up from 2019 | 94 | — | — | ||
20International Journal of Social RoboticsSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 2.16Q1 | 4.86 1.07 up from 2019 | 209 | 52% | $4,190 | ||
21Social Psychology of EducationSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 2.15Q1 | 2.85 0.23 down from 2019 | 169 | 45% | $3,290 | ||
22Aggressive BehaviorWiley · United States | 2.15Q1 | 3.90 1.35 up from 2019 | 165 | 42% | $3,600 | ||
23Applied ErgonomicsElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.09Q1 | 4.57 0.43 up from 2019 | 595 | 34% | $3,400 | ||
24Journal of Happiness StudiesSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 2.08Q1 | 3.62 0.75 up from 2019 | 367 | 38% | $3,490 | ||
25IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine SystemsInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers · United States | 2.06Q1 | 4.23 0.05 down from 2019 | 241 | 61% | $2,645 | ||
26The Journal of Positive PsychologyRoutledge | 2.02Q1 | 3.49 0.05 up from 2019 | 215 | 20% | — | ||
27Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision MakingSAGE Publishing · United States | 2.00Q1 | 2.42 0.41 down from 2019 | 68 | 20% | $1,500 | ||
28Journal of School ViolenceTaylor & Francis · United States | 1.98Q1 | 2.88 0.81 up from 2019 | 107 | 19% | — | ||
29Sexuality Research and Social PolicySpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 1.96Q1 | 3.16 0.89 up from 2019 | 151 | 41% | $2,990 | ||
30ACM Transactions on Human-Robot InteractionAssociation for Computing Machinery · United States | 1.94Q1 | 3.57 1.19 up from 2019 | 51 | 88% | — | ||
31Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics SocietySAGE Publishing · United States | 1.93Q1 | 3.70 0.29 down from 2019 | 329 | 44% | $1,500 | ||
32Motivation and EmotionSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 1.88Q1 | 3.67 1.11 up from 2019 | 215 | 42% | $3,190 | ||
33Journal of Social and Personal RelationshipsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.83Q1 | 2.81 0.40 up from 2019 | 316 | 23% | $3,650 | ||
34Cross-Cultural ResearchSAGE Publishing · United States | 1.79Q1 | 1.91 1.10 down from 2019 | 71 | 29% | $3,650 | ||
35Attachment & Human DevelopmentTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.78Q1 | 2.99 0.37 down from 2019 | 150 | 71% | — | ||
36Psychology Public Policy and LawAmerican Psychological Association · United States | 1.78Q1 | 2.23 0.54 down from 2019 | 105 | 33% | — | ||
37The Journal of PsychologyTaylor & Francis · United States | 1.77Q1 | 2.98 0.78 up from 2019 | 126 | 18% | — | ||
38Journal of Counseling & DevelopmentWiley · United States | 1.76Q1 | 3.36 0.92 up from 2019 | 150 | 14% | $2,900 | ||
39Journal of Leisure ResearchTaylor & Francis · United States | 1.74Q1 | 2.57 1.20 up from 2019 | 66 | 15% | — | ||
40Journal of Nonverbal BehaviorSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.73Q1 | 3.47 0.79 up from 2019 | 77 | 52% | $3,290 | ||
41New Ideas in PsychologyElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.73Q1 | 2.87 0.22 up from 2019 | 111 | 41% | $3,600 | ||
42Personal RelationshipsWiley · United Kingdom | 1.72Q1 | 2.10 1.49 down from 2019 | 121 | 24% | $3,140 | ||
43Team Performance ManagementEmerald Publishing Limited · United Kingdom | 1.70Q1 | 2.80 1.13 up from 2019 | 72 | 31% | — | ||
44International Journal of PrimatologySpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.67Q1 | 3.51 0.83 up from 2019 | 159 | 45% | $3,890 | ||
45Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics ScienceTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.64Q1 | 3.39 0.63 up from 2019 | 104 | 21% | — | ||
46Journal of Music TherapyOxford University Press · United States | 1.64Q1 | 3.78 1.78 up from 2019 | 59 | 8% | $3,737 | ||
47Hormones and BehaviorElsevier BV · United States | 1.59Q1 | 3.92 0.38 up from 2019 | 461 | 49% | $3,640 | ||
48Child Indicators ResearchSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.59Q1 | 2.40 0.82 up from 2019 | 258 | 46% | $3,490 | ||
49Journal of HomosexualityTaylor & Francis · United States | 1.58Q1 | 1.98 0.04 down from 2019 | 402 | 14% | — | ||
50Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and DevelopmentSAGE Publishing · United States | 1.55Q1 | 1.02 1.20 down from 2019 | 83 | 17% | — |
Subfields of Psychology, with Social Psychology highlighted.
- Clinical Psychology599
- Social Psychology199
- Developmental and Educational Psychology119
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology99
- Applied Psychology11
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology4
- General Psychology1
Journals
Citations made in 2020. Corpus-wide, 86.1% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
50 additional Social Psychology journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2017–2019, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2020. Publication window: 2017–2019. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 199
- Window papers (baseline)
- 105,268 +11.8% from indicator year 2017
- Median OJR
- 0.99 -9.2% from indicator year 2017
- Rising journals (2025)
- 6
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2017–2019 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 101 | 109 | 116 | 119 | 121 | 122 | 124 | 127 | 136 | 140 | 151 | 156 | 159 | 163 | 173 | 184 | 183 | 188 | 193 | 191 | 199 | 197 | 201 | 196 | 188 | 190 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 28,066 | 30,845 | 33,076 | 35,905 | 37,696 | 40,350 | 42,722 | 46,442 | 50,784 | 56,475 | 61,672 | 67,696 | 72,356 | 76,793 | 80,841 | 85,396 | 90,662 | 94,142 | 97,395 | 100,160 | 105,268 | 112,687 | 120,908 | 126,957 | 130,021 | 137,461 | |
| Median OJR | 0.57 | 0.56 | 0.54 | 0.61 | 0.670 | 0.6778 | 0.673 | 0.64 | 0.6780 | 0.8596 | 0.8604 | 0.95 | 1.003 | 1.10 | 1.04 | 1.12 | 1.07 | 1.09 | 1.01 | 1.03 | 0.99 | 0.921 | 0.922 | 0.923 | 0.925 | 0.90 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.