Perspectives on Psychological Science Submission Guidelines
NOTE: Perspectives on Psychological Science has temporarily suspended the consideration of new manuscript submissions as of December 9, 2022. Until the next Editor-in-Chief has been selected (expected in 2024), no new submissions will be considered.
Please Read Carefully Before Submitting Any Manuscript
Perspectives on Psychological Science seeks to advance the field of psychological science, broadly construed, by publishing high-quality research that meets the following criteria:
(a) important: the article advances psychological science in important ways, conveying an informative and significant message to a wide range of readers;
(b) original: the contribution is novel and creative; it is not just a rewriting of already-published research;
(c) readable: the article is engaging and accessible to psychologists across subdisciplines; and
(d) rigorous: the article is logical, sophisticated, and complete.
Perspectives welcomes submissions from all areas of psychology, as well as from other disciplines of behavioral and social sciences, neuroscience, methodology, and meta-science. It publishes both unsolicited submitted manuscripts as well as manuscripts invited by an editor, or by a Call for Papers for a special issue or an activist initiative.
Read the latest editorial policies from the APS Publications Committee.
Quick Links
Types of Articles Published
Stand-alone articles:
Several types can be considered for publication, such as:
- Integrative reviews of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research programs
- Introduction of new theoretical ideas and fruitful research designs
- Reviews of controversies and scientific debates
- Major issues in methodology and philosophy of science
- Historical and political reflections and metascience
- Mapping basic research onto applied and translational science
- Brief reports (1,000–1,500 words) of outstanding young scientists’ research
- Documentations of diversity of psychological science
Perspectives is not a suitable outlet for:
- Reports of single studies that can be published in various outlets for original empirical research (such as Psychological Science)
- Meta-analyses that should be submitted to specialized review journals, unless they rely on a distinct superordinate theoretical or metatheoretical message
- Contributions to statistics and technical methods issues that fit other journals, such as Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science
Activist Contributions:
Activist Contributions are reports on collaborative or competitive activities beyond traditional research documentation.
- Special issues or special issue sections convened by guest editors
- Special collections of independently submitted articles on a common theme, along with an outstanding scholar’s introduction or commentary
- Lead articles along with several authors’ critical comments
- Adversarial collaborations
- Multilab collaborations (e.g., model competitions, tournaments)
Miscellaneous:
- Biographies and autobiographies
- Timely and brief book reviews
- Humorous pieces of very high quality
The journal publishes an eclectic mix that is enjoyable to read and thought provoking, and at the same time it presents the latest important advances in psychology. Creative and insightful articles are welcome whether or not they fit the mainstream of current psychological science.
In principle, there are no strict page limitations for stand-alone articles submitted to Perspectives, except for brief reports of outstanding young scientists’ work. However, although lengthy articles may sometimes be published, we remind authors that concise articles are more frequently read and are the most likely to trigger novel insights and instigate long-lasting impact on psychological science.
An initial proposal is required for activist and miscellaneous contributions. Proposals may also be submitted for stand-alone articles but are not required.
Perspectives on Psychological Science does not compete with other journals of the Association for Psychological Science but aims at a division of labor with Psychological Science, Current Directions in Psychological Science, Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, Clinical Psychological Science, and Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Authors are therefore encouraged to submit their work to the best-suited APS journal.
Preparation and Submission of Manuscripts
Manuscripts should be submitted to the Perspectives editorial website at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pps.
SAGE is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. We strongly encourage all authors and coauthors to use ORCID iDs during the peer-review process. If you already have an ORCID iD, please login to your account on SAGE Track and edit the account information to link to your ORCID iD. If you do not already have an ORCID iD, please login to your SAGE Track account to create your unique identifier and automatically add it to your profile. PLEASE NOTE: ORCID iDs must be linked to author accounts prior to manuscript acceptance or they will not be displayed upon publication. ORCID iDs cannot be linked during the copyediting or proof phases.
Proposals
Before submitting a discourse or miscellaneous contribution, authors must submit a brief proposal describing the topic and rules of the project, the time frame, and the expected length of the manuscript.
In some cases of unusual stand-alone articles, authors may also wish to outline their ideas in a brief proposal to be appraised by the editor for suitability in the journal. However, an editor’s positive feedback to such a proposal does not constitute an invited article. All submitted manuscripts undergo the same strict review process regardless of the outcome of a preceding proposal.
Manuscript Format
Manuscripts should be submitted in the style of the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, with respect to handling of the order of manuscript sections, headings and subheadings (note that the journal uses only four levels), references, abbreviations/symbols, punctuation, writing style, grammar, and usage. Please embed tables and figures within the main text. However, authors may improve readability for the reviewers (e.g., by putting figure captions on the pages with figures). All manuscripts must include an abstract of no more than 200 words. When original data are included in the submission, they should be available in a repository, and the author should state in a cover letter that the data were collected in accordance with ethical guidelines pertaining to the use of animal or human subjects. Permission from copyright owners should be included for use of any material previously published elsewhere.
All authors listed on a manuscript must have agreed to be authors and must have approved the submitted manuscript.
Peer Reviewing
Editors will invite renowned scientists as reviewers in order to ensure that the evaluation of the work submitted to Perspectives is of the highest level of scrutiny and fairness. Instructions to reviewers focus on novelty, originality, creativity, and readability as dominant evaluation criteria.
It is the handling editor’s responsibility to make “accept” and “reject” decisions. Such decisions are not based on a vote by reviewers, and at times the judgment of the editor will diverge from the evaluations of a majority of reviewers.
Perspectives requires authors to name a minimum of five possible objective reviewers when submitting a project or manuscript. These recommendations should exclude former mentors and teachers, current colleagues, and collaborators. The editor will consider these recommendations but cannot guarantee that they will be honored.
Other Considerations
Manuscripts under review at another journal cannot be simultaneously submitted to Perspectives. The article cannot have been published elsewhere, and authors are obligated to inform the editor of other published articles of strongly overlapping content. If a submission has a history at another journal, the author should submit the reviews and editorial letter when submitting the manuscript, as this information has the potential to accelerate the decision process.
