Psychology of Popular Media Culture®
Psychology of Popular Media Culture ® is a scholarly journal dedicated to publishing empirical research and papers on how popular culture and general media influence individual, group, and system behavior.
The journal publishes rigorous research studies, as well as data-driven theoretical papers on constructs, consequences, program evaluations, and trends related to popular culture and various media sources. Although the journal welcomes and encourages submissions from a wide variety of disciplines, topics should be linked to psychological theory and research.
Editors
James C. Kaufman
University of Connecticut
Joanne Broder Sumerson
Saint Joseph's University
Consulting Editors
Avi Ben-Zeev
San Francisco State University
Denise Bielby
University of California, Santa Barbara
Nicholas Bowman
West Virginia University
Brad Bushman
Ohio State University & VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
Goldsmiths University of London, United Kingdom
Elizabeth Cohen
West Virginia University
Jayson L. Dibble
Hope College
Karen Dill
Fielding Graduate University
Frank Farley
Temple University
Michael Fenichel
New York, NY
Chris Ferguson
Stetson University
Karen Freberg
University of Louisville
Lance Garmon
Salisbury University
Douglas Gentile
Iowa State University
Mary Gregerson
Heartlandia Psychology, Leavenworth, Kansas
Karla Hamlen
Cleveland State University
Krishna Kumar
West Chester University
Anne Lincoln
Southern Methodist University
Paul Lopes
Colgate University
Katie Milestone
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
Ryan Niemiec
VIA Institute on Character, Cincinnati, Ohio
Terry Pettijohn II
Coastal Carolina University
Jonathan Plucker
University of Connecticut
Mihaela Popescu
California State University at San Bernardino
James B. Schreiber
Duquesne University
Dean Keith Simonton
University of California, Davis
Bharath Sriraman
University of Montana
Kathryn Stamoulis
Hunter College
Michael Stefanone
University at Buffalo
Felice Tilin
St. Joseph's University
Lenore Walker
Nova Southeastern University
L. Monique Ward
University of Michigan
Thomas B. Ward
University of Alabama
Danny Wedding
American University of Antigua
Danna Young
University of Delaware
Abstracting and indexing services providing coverage of Psychology of Popular Media Culture®
- PsycINFO
Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.
Submission
Submit manuscripts electronically (.rtf or .doc) through the Manuscript Submission Portal.
James C. Kaufman
California State University at San Bernardino
Email
Joanne Broder Sumerson
Saint Joseph’s University
Email
Do not submit manuscripts to the Editors' email addresses.
In addition to addresses and phone numbers, please supply email addresses and fax numbers for use by the editorial office and later by the production office. Keep a copy of the manuscript to guard against loss. Manuscripts are not returned.
Masked Review
Masked review is the default for this journal. Include authors' names and affiliations only in the cover letter for the manuscript. Authors should make every effort to see that the manuscript itself contains no clues to their identities.
If your manuscript was mask reviewed, please ensure that the final version for production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.
Manuscript Preparation
Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition). Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 3 of the Publication Manual).
Review APA's Checklist for Manuscript Submission before submitting your article.
Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual.
Below are additional instructions regarding the preparation of display equations, computer code, and tables.
Display Equations
We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.
To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:
- Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
- Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.
If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.
Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.
Computer Code
Because altering computer code in any way (e.g., indents, line spacing, line breaks, page breaks) during the typesetting process could alter its meaning, we treat computer code differently from the rest of your article in our production process. To that end, we request separate files for computer code.
In Online Supplemental Material
We request that runnable source code be included as supplemental material to the article. For more information, visit Supplementing Your Article With Online Material.
In the Text of the Article
If you would like to include code in the text of your published manuscript, please submit a separate file with your code exactly as you want it to appear, using Courier New font with a type size of 8 points. We will make an image of each segment of code in your article that exceeds 40 characters in length. (Shorter snippets of code that appear in text will be typeset in Courier New and run in with the rest of the text.) If an appendix contains a mix of code and explanatory text, please submit a file that contains the entire appendix, with the code keyed in 8-point Courier New.
Tables
Use Word's Insert Table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.
Submitting Supplemental Materials
APA can place supplemental materials online, available via the published article in the PsycARTICLES® database. Please see Supplementing Your Article With Online Material for more details.
Abstract and Keywords
All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 250 words typed on a separate page. After the abstract, please supply up to five keywords or brief phrases.
References
List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and each text citation should be listed in the References section.
Examples of basic reference formats:
- Journal Article:
Hughes, G., Desantis, A., & Waszak, F. (2013). Mechanisms of intentional binding and sensory attenuation: The role of temporal prediction, temporal control, identity prediction, and motor prediction. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 133–151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028566 - Authored Book:
Rogers, T. T., & McClelland, J. L. (2004). Semantic cognition: A parallel distributed processing approach. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. - Chapter in an Edited Book:
Gill, M. J., & Sypher, B. D. (2009). Workplace incivility and organizational trust. In P. Lutgen-Sandvik & B. D. Sypher (Eds.), Destructive organizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways of organizing (pp. 53–73). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Figures
Graphics files are welcome if supplied as Tiff or EPS files. Multipanel figures (i.e., figures with parts labeled a, b, c, d, etc.) should be assembled into one file.
The minimum line weight for line art is 0.5 point for optimal printing.
For more information about acceptable resolutions, fonts, sizing, and other figure issues, please see the general guidelines.
When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.
APA offers authors the option to publish their figures online in color without the costs associated with print publication of color figures.
The same caption will appear on both the online (color) and print (black and white) versions. To ensure that the figure can be understood in both formats, authors should add alternative wording (e.g., "the red (dark gray) bars represent") as needed.
For authors who prefer their figures to be published in color both in print and online, original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay:
- $900 for one figure
- An additional $600 for the second figure
- An additional $450 for each subsequent figure
Permissions
Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including test materials (or portions thereof), photographs, and other graphic images (including those used as stimuli in experiments).
On advice of counsel, APA may decline to publish any image whose copyright status is unknown.
Publication Policies
APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.
See also APA Journals® Internet Posting Guidelines.
APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).
Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to transfer the copyright to APA.
- For manuscripts not funded by the Wellcome Trust or the Research Councils UK
Publication Rights (Copyright Transfer) Form (PDF, 83KB) - For manuscripts funded by the Wellcome Trust or the Research Councils UK
Wellcome Trust or Research Councils UK Publication Rights Form (PDF, 34KB)
Ethical Principles
It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish "as original data, data that have been previously published" (Standard 8.13).
In addition, APA Ethical Principles specify that "after research results are published, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release" (Standard 8.14).
APA expects authors to adhere to these standards. Specifically, APA expects authors to have their data available throughout the editorial review process and for at least 5 years after the date of publication.
Authors are required to state in writing that they have complied with APA ethical standards in the treatment of their sample, human or animal, or to describe the details of treatment.
The APA Ethics Office provides the full Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct electronically on its website in HTML, PDF, and Word format. You may also request a copy by emailing or calling the APA Ethics Office (202-336-5930). You may also read "Ethical Principles," December 1992, American Psychologist, Vol. 47, pp. 1597–1611.
Other Information
- Gender Stereotypes in the Media
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 2015. Includes articles about female stereotypes in TV, movies, video games, and music.
Here you'll find guidelines for submitting proposals, calls for papers, tips for preparing manuscripts, APA policies, and more