Search People Result | Academic Influence

Find the most influential people in 24 academic disciplines and numerous subdisciplines

Find famous and important people related to your research. This is an excellent tool for research papers, topic papers, and building a bibliography. Using our influence-based algorithm, our rankings synthesize data from Wikipedia, Wikidata, Semantic Scholar, and CrossRef.

Students and researchers now have a fast and reliable way to find influential thinkers from 24 disciplines and 300 sub-disciplines (and growing). If you want to find history’s most influential philsosophers, or the world’s most influential mathematicians currently, now you can.

We also provide custom rankings of people by discipline as well as interviews with influential academics who are currently active.

To use this tool, select the discipline (and optional subdiscipline) relevant to your research, and specify influential academics by history, world, or US. Even results that are counterintuitive are often enlightening (our algorithm always picks up a signal).

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List of the most influential people in Psychology,

#4101

Joseph LoPiccolo

#166641

Overall Influence

1943 - 2019 (76 years)

Joseph LoPiccolo was an American psychologist and sex researcher who focuses on female sexual response. He coauthored the self-help book Becoming Orgasmic with Julia Heiman and served on the Subcommittee on Sexual Dysfunctions for the DSM-III-R. He was Professor Emeritus of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where previously served as chair of the department.

#4102

André Fenton

#121498

Overall Influence

1967 - Present (59 years)

André A. Fenton is a Guyanese-Canadian-American neuroscientist who is a Professor of Neural Science at New York University. He studies how brains store and experience memories. He has been co-host of the television show NOVA Wonders.

#4103

Nicole Prause

#119943

Overall Influence

1978 - Present (48 years)

Nicole Prause is an American neuroscientist researching human sexual behavior, addiction, and the physiology of sexual response. She is also the founder of Liberos LLC, an independent research institute.

#4104

Michelle Luciano

#117151

Overall Influence

Michelle Luciano is a Professor at the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on the use of twin studies to estimate genetic and environmental contributions to human behavior.She has conducted research on the relationship between Mediterranean diet and brain volume. She was awarded the Visiting Professor Award to visit Trinity College Dublin in June 2019. She was a lead researcher in a study which identified 42 genetic variants associated with dyslexia and that the genetic risk was similar between sexes, this project was in ...

#4105

Virginia E. Johnson

#61340

Overall Influence

1925 - 2013 (88 years)

Virginia E. Johnson was an American sexologist and a member of the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team. Along with her partner, William H. Masters, she pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunctions and disorders from 1957 until the 1990s.

#4106

Maurice Dayan

#144294

Overall Influence

1935 - 2020 (85 years)

Maurice Dayan was a French psychoanalyst and university professor. Biography Dayan was the son of a postman. At the age of 14, he bought books by René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Immanuel Kant, Louis Lavelle, and Jean-Paul Sartre. He attended Lycée Turgot in Paris, and won 1st prize in philosophy at the Concours général in 1953.

#4107

Gayla Margolin

#138202

Overall Influence

Gayla Margolin is an American psychologist doing research on adolescence and the effect of domestic violence on children. She has also done research on coparenting and marital therapy. She is a professor of psychology and pediatrics at the University of Southern California where she leads the Family Studies Project.

#4108

Fiona Fidler

#169118

Overall Influence

1974 - Present (52 years)

Fiona Fidler is an Australian professor and lecturer with interests in meta-research, reproducibility, open science, reasoning and decision making and statistical practice. She has held research positions at several universities and across disciplines in conjunction with Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence.

#4109

Michael H. Stone

#178199

Overall Influence

#4110

Helen Cowie

#137866

Overall Influence

Helen Cowie FBPS, PGCE, is Emeritus Professor in the Health and Social Care division of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey. Career She is concerned with the promotion of emotional health and well-being in children and young people and is a world authority on bullying in schools, the home and the workplace. Professor Cowie is currently Director of the UK Observatory for the Promotion of Non-Violence at the University of Surrey.

#4111

Robin Masheb

#172060

Overall Influence

Robin Meryl Masheb is an American psychologist. She is a Full Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University and Director of the Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight . The program is dedicated to addressing eating and weight problems in veterans through research, training and advocacy.

#4112

Paul R. Abramson

#117144

Overall Influence

1949 - Present (77 years)

Paul Richard Abramson is a UCLA psychology professor, expert witness, author, and musician. Life and career The oldest son of Leonard Abramson and Ethel Esther Sakowitz, Abramson grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut, graduating from Norwalk High School in 1967. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Miami in 1971, a master's degree in psychology from Connecticut College in 1973, and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Connecticut in 1976. His research focused on the interplay between sexuality and personality.

#4113

Kevin Masters

#161175

Overall Influence

1958 - Present (68 years)

Kevin S. Masters is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Colorado Denver. Since 2009, he has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, where he was earlier an associate editor . He has also served as associate editor at Annals of Behavioral Medicine . and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

#4114

George Wright

#165234

Overall Influence

1952 - Present (74 years)

George Wright is a British psychologist. Wright completed a BSc degree in psychology at the University of London, followed by a master's degree and doctorate in the same subject from Brunel University London. In 2013, Wright earned a DSc from the University of Warwick.

#4115

Carolyn A. McCarty

#127912

Overall Influence

Carolyn Askren McCarty is an American psychologist. She is a research professor of pediatrics and adjunct research associate professor of psychology in the department of pediatrics at University of Washington . McCarty is the director of research and development in adolescent medicine at UW. She was the lead author on a study about health care resources available for suicidal teenagers. In 2000, McCarty completed a Ph.D. at University of California, Los Angeles. Her doctoral advisor was John R. Weisz.

#4116

Lauren Y. Atlas

#172456

Overall Influence

Lauren Y. Atlas is an American psychologist researching how expectations and learning influence pain and emotion, and how these factors influence clinical outcomes. She is a clinical investigator at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and serves as the chief of the section on affective neuroscience and pain.

#4117

Leila Takayama

#132950

Overall Influence

Leila A. Takayama is an associate professor of Human–computer interaction at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has previously held positions at Google X and Willow Garage. She was elected as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2013.

#4118

Margaret Beale Spencer

#178545

Overall Influence

#4119

Reva Potashin

#94421

Overall Influence

1921 - 2013 (92 years)

Reva Potashin was a Canadian psychologist known for her contributions to the field of sociometry . She was a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

#4120

Jessica Taylor

#82426

Overall Influence

Jessica Taylor is a British feminist author and campaigner. Taylor is the author of the 2020 book Why Women Are Blamed For Everything. She has made appearances on British television, including BBC Two documentary Womanhood, and in the true crime documentary My Lover, My Killer, which aired on Channel Five.

#4121

Joseph Magliano

#178699

Overall Influence

Joseph Magliano is a professor in the College of Education & Human Development at Georgia State University. Formerly he was a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy at Northern Illinois University.

#4122

LeShawndra Price

#170331

Overall Influence

LeShawndra N. Price is an American psychologist specialized in mental health and health disparities research. She is the director of the office of research training and special programs at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

#4123

Katherine A. Rawson

#168752

Overall Influence

Katherine A. Rawson is an American cognitive psychologist known for her educational research on how to optimize learning, promote effective study strategies, and enhance metacognition. She is Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University. She is co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Cognition and Education, which surveys research on teaching and study strategies that increase learning.

#4124

Helen Stallman

#174837

Overall Influence

Helen Margaret Stallman is an Australian scientist, clinical psychologist and author. She is director of the International Association of University Health and Wellbeing. Early life and education Stallman earned a bachelor's degree in science at the University of Southern Queensland, a Bachelor of Psychology degree at James Cook University, a Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree at theUniversity of Queensland, a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Queensland and a Certificate in Medical Education at the University of Queensland. She graduated with her daughter, Monique, in 2012.

#4125

Paul Cameron

#99108

Overall Influence

1939 - Present (87 years)

Paul Drummond Cameron is an American psychologist. While employed at various institutions, including the University of Nebraska, he conducted research on passive smoking, but he is best known today for his claims about homosexuality. After a successful 1982 campaign against a gay rights proposal in Lincoln, Nebraska, he established the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality , now known as the Family Research Institute . As FRI's chairman, Cameron has written contentious papers asserting unproven associations between homosexuality and the perpetration of child sexual abuse and reduced life expectancy.

#4126

Brendesha Tynes

#171490

Overall Influence

Brendesha Marie Tynes is an American psychologist who is a professor of Psychology and Education at the USC Rossier School of Education. Her research considers how young people engage with social media, and how this influences their socioeconomic and academic outcomes. Tynes is principal investigator on the Teen Life Online and in Schools Project, which studies race-related cyberbullying.

#4127

Sandra L. Murray

#176917

Overall Influence

2000 - Present (26 years)

Sandra L. Murray is Professor of Psychology at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. She is a social psychologist known for her work on close relationships and their trajectories over time. Murray received the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology in 2003 for "distinguished and original contributions to an understanding of motivated social cognition in relationships." Other awards include the New Contribution Award from the International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships in 1998 and 2000...

#4128

Austin Mardon

#73174

Overall Influence

1962 - Present (64 years)

Austin Albert Mardon, is a Canadian author, community leader, and advocate for mental health. He is an assistant adjunct professor at the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre at the University of Alberta. In the mid 80's, he founded and today still directs the Antarctic Institute of Canada, a non-profit entity based in Edmonton, Alberta. He is married to lawyer and activist Catherine Mardon, and has co-written several books with her.

#4129

Beatrix Tugendhut Gardner

#93902

Overall Influence

1933 - 1995 (62 years)

Beatrix Tugendhut Gardner was an Austrian zoologist who became well known for the research that she conducted in the United States. She is most well known for her sign language studies with Washoe the chimpanzee, who was the first ape to learn sign language.

#4130

Brenda A. Allen

#92327

Overall Influence

Brenda A. Allen is an American psychologist, educator, and academic administrator who has served as the 14th president of Lincoln University, a historically black university in Oxford, Pennsylvania, since July 2017. She is the second woman to serve as Lincoln University's president after Nyara Sudarkasa. Allen has prioritized strengthening Lincoln's academic quality and campus infrastructure.

#4131

Velma McBride Murry

#171454

Overall Influence

Velma McBride Murry is an American psychologist and sociologist, currently the Lois Autrey Betts Chair in Education and Human Development and Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt University. Her research has largely focused on resilience and protective factors for African-American families, and she has several publications in this area. In addition to her empirical research, she has contributed to several published books and used her experience to create two family-based preventative intervention programs.

#4132

Janis Paterson

#48298

Overall Influence

Janis Paterson is a New Zealand academic. She is currently a full professor at the Auckland University of Technology. After a 1993 PhD titled 'Adolescent perceptions of attachment: parents, friends, and impact on self esteem' at the University of Auckland, Paterson moved to Auckland University of Technology, where she has worked for more than twenty years.

#4133

Catherine Hartley

#170917

Overall Influence

Catherine Hartley is an American psychologist and an Associate Professor of Psychology within the Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science at New York University in New York City. Hartley's research explores how brain development impacts the evaluation of negative experiences, decision-making, and motivated behavior. Her work has helped to elucidate how uncontrollable aversive events affect fear learning and how learning to control aversive stimuli can improve emotional resilience.

#4134

Emily M. Douglas

#160472

Overall Influence

1973 - Present (53 years)

Emily M. Douglas is a political scientist conducting research on child and family well-being, the child welfare system, fatal child maltreatment, domestic violence and divorced families, and corporal punishment. She is a full professor and the chair of the Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy at Montclair State University.

#4135

Zander Wedderburn

#109153

Overall Influence

1935 - 2017 (82 years)

Alexander Allan Innes "Zander" Wedderburn was a British psychologist renown for his research on shiftwork and for the development of the teaching of occupational psychology. Biography Wedderburn was born in Edinburgh in 1935. His father was Alexander Archibald Innes Wedderburn, a lawyer and auditor to the Court of Session. His mother was Ellen Innes Jeans. He attended Edinburgh Academy at which he obtained the position of Dux or leading student. After a period of National Service he proceeded to Exeter College, Oxford from which he graduated in 1959 with a degree in Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology.

#4136

Michael Arthur

#25399

Overall Influence

1954 - Present (72 years)

Sir Michael James Paul Arthur FMedSci is a British academic who was the tenth provost and president of University College London between 2013 and January 2021. Arthur had previously been chairman of the Russell Group of UK universities and the vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds between September 2004 and 2013.

#4137

Joan Freeman

#176755

Overall Influence

1935 - Present (91 years)

Joan Freeman was a child psychologist who is known for her work in the lifetime development of gifts and talents. Education and academia Freeman earned her BSc in psychology at Manchester University, followed by an advanced diploma in school counselling, an MEd in education and a PhD in educational psychology.

#4138

Raffaella Rumiati

#170045

Overall Influence

1961 - Present (65 years)

Raffaella Ida Rumiati is professor of cognitive neuroscience at the International School for Advanced Studies [Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati], , Italy. She sits on the editorial board of the journal Cognitive Neuropsychology, and is an action editor for the journal Brain and Cognition. Rumiati is also a member of the steering committee of the European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology. and a member of The NeuroGenderings Network.

#4139

Monika Schwarz-Friesel

#119329

Overall Influence

1961 - Present (65 years)

Monika Schwarz-Friesel is a German cognitive scientist, professor at the Technical University of Berlin and one of Europe's most distinguished antisemitism researchers according to Marc Neugröschel from the newspaper The Times of Israel. She is often interviewed by media outlets like Haaretz, Der Standard or Der Tagesspiegel on her research on current forms of antisemitism, which often take place on the internet.

#4140

Helinä Häkkänen-Nyholm

#168101

Overall Influence

1971 - Present (55 years)

Helinä Häkkänen is a Finnish psychologist who has studied narcissism and psychopathy and wrote the first Finnish textbook on the subject, Psykopatia. Working as both a criminal psychologist and an associate professor, at the University of Helsinki, Häkkänen-Nyholm studies criminal behavior and the risk factors associated with it. She is considered one of Finland's chief experts in forensic psychiatry and legal psychology and has a prolific publishing record. She started her career in legal and criminal psychology at the National Bureau of Investigation after which she ran a legal company. Si...

#4141

Peggy J. Kleinplatz

#150751

Overall Influence

2000 - Present (26 years)

Peggy Joy Kleinplatz is a Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist whose work often concerns optimal sexuality, opposition to the medicalization of human sexuality, and outreach to marginalized groups. She is a full professor of medicine and clinical professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa.

#4142

Reva Gerstein

#67637

Overall Influence

1917 - 2020 (103 years)

Reva Appleby Gerstein was a Canadian psychologist, educator, and mental health advocate. She was the first woman Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario, serving from 1992 to 1996. Biography Gerstein was the daughter of Diana and David Appleby. After attending Fern Avenue Public School and Parkdale Collegiate Institute, Gerstein earned a Bachelor of Arts degree , a Master of Arts degree , and a PhD from the University of Toronto.

#4143

Thomas H. Bak

#145748

Overall Influence

1961 - Present (65 years)

Thomas H. Bak is a Polish-British cognitive neuroscientist. He is a researcher at the University of Edinburgh whose work centres on the impact of bilingualism on cognitive functions, bilingualism and cognitive function across the lifespan, cross-linguistic studies of aphasia, and the relationship between language, cognition and culture in neurodegenerative brain diseases. He also works on the design and adaptation of cognitive and motor assessments to different languages and cultures.

#4144

Rodney L. Lowman

Rodney L. Lowman

#174420

Overall Influence

1949 - Present (77 years)

#4145

Mary E. Larimer

#177669

Overall Influence

Mary E. Larimer is an American psychologist and academic. Larimer is a professor of psychiatry and Behavioral sciences, Professor or Psychology, and the Director of the Center for the Study of Health & Risk Behaviors at University of Washington . Additionally, she serves as a psychologist at the Psychiatry Clinic at UW Medical Center-Roosevelt.

#4146

Bethany Albertson

#75028

Overall Influence

Bethany Lee Albertson is an American Political psychologist. She is an Associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at Austin. Her co-authored book Anxious Politics: Democratic Citizenship in a Threatening World received the Robert E. Lane Award for being the best book in political psychology published in 2015.

#4147

Patrick H. DeLeon

#172045

Overall Influence

1943 - Present (83 years)

Patrick Henry DeLeon is an American psychologist, former chief of staff for United States Senator Daniel Inouye and past president of the American Psychological Association . He became an aide for Senator Inouye in 1973, when Inouye served on a committee investigating the Watergate scandal, and remained on the senator's staff for 38 years. After DeLeon's daughter survived meningitis in 1984, he was involved in the establishment of the Emergency Medical Services for Children program. DeLeon helped to create the nursing and pharmacy schools at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

#4148

Catherine Tamis-LeMonda

#139838

Overall Influence

2000 - Present (26 years)

Catherine Tamis-LeMonda is a developmental psychologist and professor of applied psychology at New York University . She is an expert on parenting practices and the influence of parent-child social interaction on language, cognitive, and social development. She has co-edited numerous volumes on parenting and early child development including the Handbook of Father Involvement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives and Child Psychology: A Handbook of Contemporary Issues and Gender Roles in Immigrant Families .

#4149

Lewis Yablonsky

#30397

Overall Influence

1924 - 2014 (90 years)

Lewis Yablonsky was an American sociologist, criminologist, author, and psychotherapist best known for his innovative and experiential work with gang members as well as with the Counterculture of the 1960s. He wrote seventeen books and taught for over thirty years at California State University, Northridge.

#4150

Robert Shapley

#59288

Overall Influence

1944 - Present (82 years)

Robert Shapley is an American neurophysiologist, the Natalie Clews Spencer Professor of the Sciences at New York University, a professor in the Center for Neural Science and an associate member of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.

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