Psychology in Latin America. Historical study through its indexed paper production in Scopus (1951-2000)

Introduction: This study examines the production of certified knowledge in psychology in Latin America (LatAm) from 1951 to 2000, adopting a critical historiographical perspective. The goal is to identify the social, conceptual, and intellectual dimensions of these publications in psychology. Method: This study analyses the bibliographic records of the Scopus database for the five most productive LatAm countries in the field of psychology (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico) using a sociobibliometric strategy to explore productivity, collaboration, and the influence of practices, an applied approach, as well as the prevalence of certain theories. Result: The results reveal a gradual increase in the production of scientific literature in the field of psychology in LatAm until the mid-1990s, followed by an exponential surge. It is noteworthy that universities are situated in major urban centres, particularly in Brazil and Mexico. The analysis of social networks highlights a strong collaborative relationship between LatAm countries and the United States. The conceptual and thematic structure is characterised by the presence of four main groups: clinical and epidemiological studies, animal experiments, psychological and physiological features, and psychotherapies. With regard to intellectual references, there is evidence of a mixture of classical psychological authors and LatAm authors. Discussion: The findings indicate a variety of patterns of production and collaboration, shaped by the traditions of different branches of psychology. The collaboration with the United States and the presence of classical occidental authors show characteristics of LatAm production, indicating a certain coloniality and dependency.