Theory Integration (psychbull-theory-integration)

A Psychological Bulletin paper is judged not by the size of its table but by what the synthesis means for psychology. The journal publishes evaluative and integrative reviews — the value is in interpreting an existing literature, reconciling its contradictions, and advancing or refining a theoretical account. (Note: a purely new theory with no synthesis belongs to Psychological Review; here the theory is grounded in the synthesized evidence.) This skill builds the contribution; the numbers come from the analysis skills.

When to trigger

• The pooled effect, moderators, and bias analyses exist and you must say what they mean
• A literature has conflicting findings you can now reconcile
• Building or refining a theoretical model from the synthesized evidence
• A reviewer says the review is "a competent meta-analysis but not a contribution"

From results to contribution