Bayesian versus Frequentist approaches in Psychometrics: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract The increasing popularity of the Bayesian approach in Psychology has prompted metascientific efforts to quantify its prevalence. However, despite enduring debates between proponents of Frequentist and Bayesian approaches, no systematic comparison of their prominence has been conducted in existing literature. This brief report fills this gap, examining Bayesian and Frequentist Trends in the period from 1964 to 2021 through a meticulous search in PsycINFO. The findings reveal that within Psychometrics and Statistical Psychology, the Frequentist approach has consistently been more popular than the Bayesian approach. However, a plateau or decline in frequentist contributions has emerged in recent years (around 2010), with Bayesian contributions surpassing them after 2014 in some portions and after 2019 in all investigated sources. Although this observation applies primarily to specialized literature rather than the entire psychology domain, it underscores the growing prevalence of the Bayesian approach, signaling a shift among specialists in the field.