People's Responses to Nuclear Weapons: Mapping Post-Cold War Research.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Political Science

Background:

• Rising global nuclear weapon threats necessitate understanding public psychological responses.
• Previous research reviews on this topic are over 30 years old.
• Empirical study of psychological responses to nuclear weapons is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically map and analyze empirical research on psychological responses to nuclear weapons since the Cold War.
• To assess publication patterns, research communities, themes, and methodological rigor in this field.
• To identify the evolution of this research area towards a coordinated scholarly field.

Main Methods:

• Systematic mapping of articles from Web of Science and Scopus databases.
• Screening of 18,505 initial hits to identify 256 suitable articles.
• Analysis of publication patterns, author collaborations, research themes (cocitation networks), and methodological validity (sample size, validated measures).

Main Results:

• A significant increase in publications indicates renewed interest in studying responses to nuclear weapons.
• The research field lacks a coherent community, characterized by scattered, one-off studies rather than coordinated efforts.
• Evidence suggests an emerging, albeit uncoordinated, scholarly field.

Conclusions:

• While interest in psychological responses to nuclear weapons is growing, the field requires further development to establish a coherent research community.
• Future research should focus on building collaborations and standardized methodologies to enhance the validity and generalizability of findings.
• Understanding public responses to nuclear weapon threats remains critical in the current geopolitical climate.