Recent Progress in Society and Behavioral Sciences Research

In the ever-evolving landscape of scientific inquiry, recent progress in research related to society and behavioral aspects has yielded fascinating insights. Let’s explore some of the noteworthy developments:

1. Psychological Well-Being Interventions

Psychological well-being, characterized by feelings, cognitions, and strategies associated with positive functioning [1], plays a pivotal role in overall health and longevity. Researchers have delved into interventions aimed at enhancing psychological well-being, offering a promising strategy for improving population health [2].

Key Insights:

1. Adaptation of Existing Interventions: Scientists emphasize the need to adapt existing interventions to achieve substantial effects that translate into improved psychological functioning and overall health.
2. Durability of Interventions: Understanding the durability of interventions is crucial for driving lasting changes at a population level.
3. Shift to Public Health Model: Transitioning from individual-level care to a public-health model necessitates scalable infrastructure capable of delivering interventions to a broader audience.
4. Accessibility and Diversity: Interventions should be accessible and effective across racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse samples.

2. Positive Health Assets

While much research has focused on risk factors and deficits, recent work highlights the value of examining positive health assets. Psychological well-being, encompassing hedonic and eudaimonic aspects, uniquely contributes to better physical health and longer lives. Optimism, sense of purpose, positive affect, and life satisfaction have consistently been associated with reduced mortality risk [3].

3. Behavioral Trends

The present study explores the current trends in sustainable entrepreneurial behavior to contribute fundamental knowledge for future academic research in the dynamic field of sustainable entrepreneurship [4]. Exploring behavioral trends provides critical insights into societal shifts. Some recent trends include:

• Digital Behavior: The proliferation of digital platforms has transformed human behavior, affecting communication, social interactions, and mental health.
• Behavioral Economics: Researchers continue to explore behavioral economics, studying decision-making processes, biases, and nudges that influence individual and collective choices.
• Social Norms and Influence: Understanding how social norms shape behavior and how influence spreads through networks is essential for designing effective interventions.

4. Interdisciplinary Collaborations

Interdisciplinary collaboration fuels research innovation and funders are increasingly offering long-term grants prioritising partnerships [5]. Collaboration across disciplines is essential for addressing complex societal challenges. Researchers from psychology, sociology, economics, and other fields come together to tackle issues such as climate change, inequality, and mental health.

Conclusion

Recent progress in society and behavioral research underscores the interconnectedness of individual well-being, societal dynamics, and global challenges. As we continue to explore these frontiers, interdisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based interventions will pave the way for a healthier, more resilient world.

Remember, the journey of discovery is ongoing, and each breakthrough brings us closer to understanding the intricate tapestry of human behavior and societal impact.

List of top most journals in Society and Behavioral Sciences (2024)

What is open access journal?

An open access journal is an academic journal that publishes scholarly papers and makes the content available for access, download, reading, and distribution without charging subscription fees. People commonly refer to open access journals as “free journals” since users do not have to pay to read or use their contents. In the general context, it is somehow correct. But technically, most open access journals use Creative Commons licenses, which are public licenses that allow content usage and impose certain restrictions, if any. Such restrictions may include attribution, modifications, and non-commercialization. Open access journals are growing in popularity and are well respected in academia. Major databases such as the Directory of Open Access Publishing have begun focusing on indexing and promoting high-quality open access journals. More established databases have also followed suit. The presence of established databases in promoting open access journals is an important validation and recognition of open research.

What is open peer review?

Open peer review (OPR), where review reports and reviewers’ identities are published alongside the articles, represents one of the last aspects of the open science movement to be widely embraced, although its adoption has been growing since the turn of the century (Wolfram etal., 2020) [6]. Open peer review refers to various modifications of the traditional scholarly peer review process. These modifications aim to address perceived shortcomings of the conventional system. Here are the three common forms of open peer review:

1. Open Identities:

• In open peer review, authors and reviewers are aware of each other’s identities. Unlike traditional peer review, where reviewers remain anonymous to anyone but the journal’s editors, open peer review allows transparency by revealing reviewer names to authors.
• However, reviewer identities may or may not be disclosed to the public.

2. Open Reports:

• Under this model, review reports are made public, rather than being confidentially shared only with the article’s authors. This includes publishing not only the reviewers’ comments but also the authors’ responses and editors’ recommendations.
• Typically, this applies to articles accepted for publication, not those that are rejected.

3. Open Participation:

• In open peer review, self-selected reviewers (beyond invited experts) can comment on an article. The assumption is that the article’s content is openly accessible.
• These self-selected reviewers may contribute either brief comments or comprehensive reviews.
• The text of the article is openly available, allowing broader community participation in the review process.

The adoption of open peer review aims to enhance transparency, provide incentives, reduce wastefulness, and address issues like bullying and harassment in scholarly communication.

What are the benefits of Open Peer Review?

Open peer review (OPR) is a transparent process that allows scholarly articles to be evaluated by experts in the field, while also revealing the identities of both authors and reviewers. OPR can improve the quality of research by:

• Encouraging constructive feedback: Openness in the identities of authors and reviewers can lead to better quality feedback rather than simply rejecting the paper.
• Reducing bias: Everything is openly available to all, which can reduce the possibility of bias.
• Empowering authors: Authors can lead the process by suggesting reviewers themselves.
• Improving accountability: The quality of current scientific publications is at stake.
• Encouraging collaboration: OPR encourages collaboration and promotes diversity of perspectives, ultimately leading to more robust and credible research outcomes.
• Providing learning opportunities: OPR places a research work in the context of a discussion, and gives authors, readers and others a chance to better understand the process from the initial manuscript submission to final published version.
• Exposing possible conflicts of interest: OPR may help to expose possible conflicts of interest in some cases.

Adoption of OPR by publishers (Wolfram etal., 2020) [6]

A summary of the most prolific publishers contributing to OPR and their headquarters country appears below. Although many journals today attract an international audience and are managed by international teams of researchers, the prevalence of OPR journals associated with publishers based in Europe stands out. Twenty-four of the 38 (63.2%) identified publishers are based in Europe and account for 445 out of the 617 titles (72.1%). Although the publishers are based in Europe, many of the journals they publish may support journals originating from other areas of the world (e.g., Kowsar). Furthermore, 500 of the OPR journals (81.0%) are published by only five publishers (MDPI, SDI, BioMed Central, Frontiers Media S.A., Kowsar). This points to the important role that publishers have played to date in the promotion of OPR (Wolfram etal., 2020) [6].

1. *United Kingdom (19 journals), United States (9), Argentina (1), Bulgaria (1), Canada (1), France (1), Germany (1), Ireland (1), Kenya (1), The Netherlands (1), Switzerland (1)

List of open Peer-review journals in society and behavioral sciences (2024)

1. Behavioral Sciences (Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/behavsci)
   2. BMC Psychology (Website: https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com)
   3. Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science (Website: https://journaljesbs.com)
   4. Asian Research Journal of Arts & Social Sciences (Website: https://journalarjass.com)

References:

1. Kubzansky, L. D., Kim, E. S., Boehm, J. K., Davidson, R. J., Huffman, J. C., Loucks, E. B., … & Moskowitz, J. T. (2023). Interventions to Modify Psychological Well-Being: Progress, Promises, and an Agenda for Future Research. Affective Science, 4, 174–184
2. Martín-María, N., Miret, M., Caballero, F. F., Rico-Uribe, L. A., Steptoe, A., Chatterji, S., … & Ayuso-Mateos, J. L. (2017). The impact of subjective well-being on mortality: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies in the general population. Psychosomatic Medicine, 79(5), 565–575
3. Case, A., & Deaton, A. (2015). Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(49), 15078–15083
4. Abd Rahman, N. H., Isa, Z. M., & Anuar, A. (2024). Emerging Trends in Sustainable Entrepreneurial Behavior: Bibliometric Data Insights. Information Management and Business Review, 16(1 (I)), 16-30.
5. Craig, S. L., Eaton, A. D., Brooks, A. S., McInroy, L. B., Lozano-Verduzco, I., Austin, A., … & McDermott, D. T. (2024). Building bridges and breaking down silos: A framework for developing interdisciplinary, international academic-community research collaborations for the benefit of sexual and gender minority youth. Psychology & Sexuality, 15(1), 19-37.
6. Wolfram, D., Wang, P., Hembree, A. et al. Open peer review: promoting transparency in open science. Scientometrics 125, 1033–1051 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03488-4