Explaining citation counts of senior developmental psychologists

In this article, the citation counts of 490 senior developmental psychologists were analyzed. Results showed that the 3-year citations totals from 1992 to 1994 ranged between 0 and 2248. Whereas the work of half of the sample was cited in 15 or fewer articles per year, the top 10% were cited in 210-2248 articles over three years. Comparisons between the top 10% and those at the median level showed that these groups primarily differed in terms of (a) research interest, (b) theoretical orientation, and (c) publication rate. Moreover, the Top 50 started at the 81st percentile (on average) when they held their degrees for 10-12 years then rose to the 96th percentile by the time they held their degrees for 25-26 years. A comparison between professors and associate professors showed that the former were cited significantly more often than the latter. (C) 1997 Academic Press.