Information for Contributors
Please Read Carefully Before Submitting Any Manuscript
Psychological Science encourages submission of papers from all fields - including cognitive science, neuroscience, linguistics, and social sciences - that are relevant to psychological research, theory, or applications. Preference is given to articles that are deemed to be of general theoretical significance or of broad interest across specialties of psychology and related fields, and that are written to be intelligible to a wide range of readers.
Types of Articles Published
General Articles
General Articles (up to 5,000 words*), may
- give perspectives on problems, issues, or new developments pertaining to psychology in public affairs, government, or environmental or social problems of broad concern;
- review new developments in one field of research that would be of interest to readers in other fields;
- present a tutorial or critical review of literature on a research problem or research method.
General Articles are not empirical papers or meta-analyses; they should include an abstract of no more than 150 words; the reference list should not exceed 50 items; and figures and tables should occupy no more than a printed page.
Research Articles
Research Articles (up to 4,000 words*) may present new theory, new data, new methods, or any combination of these. They must be written to be intelligible to a relatively broad readership. Psychological Science does not normally provide for the primary publication of extensive empirical studies with the full presentation of methods and data that is standard for the more specialized research journals. Broad theoretical significance and interdisciplinary interest are major criteria for acceptance. A Research Article should include an abstract of no more than 150 words and a maximum of 40 items in the reference list.
Research Reports
Short reports (up to 2,500 words*) are expected to present new research findings and will be favored if they present innovations in approach or method. The report should include an abstract of no more than 150 words and a reference list normally not exceeding 30 items.
Short Reports, Commentaries, and Letters
Short Reports (up to 1,000 words*) may present brief experiments of broad interest. Commentaries (up to 1,000 words*) and letters (up to 500 words) may discuss problems of general interest to psychological and social scientists or may criticize or supplement articles or reports previously published in Psychological Science. None of these have abstracts. They are also limited to one table or figure, and the figure may include no more than two panels.
* Word counts must include the main text plus notes, acknowledgements, and appendices.
Preparation and Submission of Manuscripts
Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to the incoming editor, Robert V. Kail, at the Psychological Science manuscript submission site, http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/psci. Authors also may correspond with the Editor via e-mail. The address is PsychologicalScience@psych.purdue.edu.
The style of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition, must be followed with respect to handling of references, footnotes, tables and figures, and abbreviations and symbols. Permission from the copyright owner should be included for use of any figure previously published elsewhere. In Research Articles and Research Reports, descriptions of methods and results should be prepared with special attention to readability.
Statistics
Effect sizes should accompany major results. When relevant, bar and line graphs should include distributional information, usually confidence intervals or standard errors of the mean.Preparation of Graphics
The preferred format for electronic graphics is EPS, although TIFF is a good
alternative. Also, figures need to be saved at a resolution of at least 300
dpi. It is advisable not to create figures using presentation application software
(e.g., PowerPoint) or other software that does not allow files to be saved in
EPS or TIFF format at a high resolution.
Authors who wish to reproduce figures in color should bear in mind that color
work is expensive, and we have no option but to have authors pay these costs.
Review and Selection of Manuscripts
On receipt, the Editor and an Associate Editor read each new submission to decide whether it is likely to be competitive for publication. Within two weeks of submission, authors are notified by e-mail that their manuscript either (a) has been declined without review or (b) has been sent to outside referees for review. For manuscripts that are reviewed, authors can expect a decision within 60 days of manuscript submission. Rejected manuscripts cannot be reconsidered unless resubmission following revision has been invited by the Editor.
Accepted papers are edited to improve readability and effectiveness of communication. When editing is extensive or when the author's meaning is not clear, the manuscript may be returned to the author for review and retyping before the article goes to press.
Accepted manuscripts will appear in the print version of Psychological Science that appears monthly as well as the digital “This Week in Psychological Science” that is distributed weekly to all APS members.
Contributors are encouraged to consult the Contributor FAQ before submitting manuscripts to Psychological Science.