Literature Positioning (psychrev-literature-positioning)

When to trigger

• The model is forming but you cannot name whose account you improve on
• Reviewers (you anticipate) will ask "how is this different from [established model]?"
• Your introduction cites broadly but engages no specific theory
• You are unsure whether your idea is new or a re-derivation of a known model

The core move: name the rivals, not just the topic

At Psychological Review the central positioning question is not "what is the area?" but "which existing theories make claims about this explanandum, and what does yours do that they cannot?" Editors and reviewers are typically drawn from exactly the modeling tradition you enter. A paper that does not engage the standing models reads as unaware of its own field.

For each phenomenon in your explanandum, build a rival map: