devpsych-topic-selection
Use when deciding whether a project fits Developmental Psychology (APA) and which length tier to target. The journal publishes seminal empirical work that advances knowledge and theory about development across the life span; the core test is whether the contribution is about developmental change, not just a phenomenon measured in one age group. Frames the question; it does not collect data.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill devpsych-topic-selection --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Topic Selection & Fit (devpsych-topic-selection) Developmental Psychology publishes **empirical research that significantly advances knowledge and theory about development across the life span** — infancy through aging. The decisive fit test is not "is this interesting in children/older adults?" but **"is the contribution about developmental change?"** — age effects, within-person change, trajectories, or the mechanisms that drive them. ## When to trigger - Choosing among projects or framings for Developmental Psychology - A reader said the work feels "not really developmental," "descriptive," or "a single-age study" - Deciding which length tier to target (brief report vs. larger vs. multi-study/longitudinal report) - Placing a study run on minors or older adults that you suspect belongs at a sibling venue ## The fit test A strong Developmental Psychology paper usually clears all four: 1. **Developmental claim.** The contribution is about *change with age or time* (or the mechanism of change), not a correlation that happens to be measured in one age band. State the developmental question. 2. **Theory advance.** It advances theory about development, not just adds a finding; name t
- When to trigger
- The fit test
- Length tier (verify current limits on the official page)
- Fit scoring — worked example (illustrative)
- Sibling-venue triage (place it right)
- Reviewer / editor pushback at the fit stage
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the devpsych-topic-selection skill do?
Use when deciding whether a project fits Developmental Psychology (APA) and which length tier to target. The journal publishes seminal empirical work that advances knowledge and theory about development across the life span; the core test is whether the contribution is about developmental change, not just a phenomenon measured in one age group. Frames the question; it does not collect data.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill devpsych-topic-selection --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.