Psychology as a Hub Science
By Michael McBeath, Professor and Morris Okun, Associate Chair and Professor
Recently, researchers interested in the sociology of science have explored the pattern of
influence by different areas of science on each other. Boyack, Klavans, and Borner (2005)
examined citation data from more than one million journal articles appearing in over 7,000
natural and social science journals during the year 2000. They were able to visually depict the
location of each scientific discipline in a cluster map representing all areas of science. Their map
identified seven areas of science designated as hubs of influence: mathematics, physics
chemistry, earth sciences, medicine, social sciences, and psychology (see Figure below).
Notably, public health, neuroscience, neurology, radiology, cardiology, and genetics are among
the sciences that fall between psychology and medicine, while education and gerontology fall
between psychology and the social sciences. The results of Boyack et al. (2005) indicate that
scientific contributions in psychology hold promise of advancing not only the discipline of
psychology itself, but many other scientific fields as well.
From Boyack, K.W., Klavans, R., & Borner, K. (2005). Mapping the backbone of
science. Scientometrics, 64(3), 351-374.
The Psychology Department as a Scientific Hub at ASU
We recently performed a survey of all ASU Psychology Department faculty members to examine
our interconnectivity to other academic units within the Arizona State University community.
Below is a figure depicting our findings, divided into seven general topical categories specified
by color. Our findings are consistent with the interconnective hub area designation described by
Boyack and colleagues. It is not a surprise that psychology is important to so many disciplines
given that any kind of scientific, artistic, or constructive modeling or expression is impacted by
cognitive, social, and behavioral factors that comprise our discipline. It is a tribute to the
industriousness and success of ASU’s Psychology Department that our faculty members have
forged so many links that facilitate success throughout the ASU academic community. Truly,
psychology has proven to be a fundamental hub department that makes an important contribution
to the advancement of ASU as a leader of knowledge generation and utilization.