Journal scope statement
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts is devoted to promoting scholarship on the psychology of the production and appreciation of the arts and all aspects of creative endeavor.
To that end, we publish manuscripts presenting original empirical research and papers that synthesize and evaluate extant research that relate to the psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts.
Generally, qualitative work, case studies, essays, interviews, biographical profiles, and literature reviews are discouraged.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts supports equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in its practices. More information on these initiatives is available under EDI Efforts.
Editor’s Choice
One article from each issue of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts will be highlighted as an “Editor’s Choice” article. Selection is based on the recommendations of the associate editors, the paper’s potential impact to the field, the distinction of expanding the contributors to, or the focus of, the science, or its discussion of an important future direction for science. Editor’s Choice articles are featured alongside articles from other APA published journals in a bi-weekly newsletter and are temporarily made freely available to newsletter subscribers.
Author and editor spotlights
Explore journal highlights: free article summaries, editor interviews and editorials, journal awards, mentorship opportunities, and more.
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
To submit to the editorial office of Thalia Goldstein and Oshin Vartanian, please submit manuscripts electronically through the Manuscript Submission Portal in Word Document format (.doc).
Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual). APA Style and Grammar Guidelines for the 7th edition are available.
In addition to addresses and phone numbers, authors should supply electronic mail addresses and fax numbers for use by the editorial office and later by the production office. The majority of correspondence between the editorial office and authors is handled by email, so a valid email address is important to the timely flow of communication during the editorial process.
Authors should provide electronic mail addresses in their cover letters and should keep a copy of the manuscript to guard against loss. Manuscripts are not returned.
Manuscripts, whether empirical studies, synthesis of research, or theoretical essays, are expected to be under 40 manuscript pages, unless prior arrangement is made with the editors.
Registered Reports
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts publishes Registered Reports. Registered Reports require a two-step review process. The first step is the submission of the registration manuscript. This is a partial manuscript that includes the introduction and methods section of the manuscript (i.e., the hypotheses, rationale for the study, experimental design, and methodological details including power analyses for sample size, statistical analysis pipeline, and any pilot data). This partial manuscript will then go through Stage 1 review. In this stage, the manuscript will be reviewed for significance and rationale for the study as well as the rigor and clarity of the methodological approach. If the partial manuscript is accepted, this amounts to provisional acceptance of the full report regardless of the outcome of the study. Once the study is complete, authors will submit the finalized manuscript for Stage 2 review. In this stage, the paper will be reviewed for adherence to the approved Stage 1 submission.
Book reviews
The book review editor is Prof. Jeffrey Smith.
Books are generally reviewed by invitation only. Persons interested in writing reviews are encouraged to contact the book review editor, indicating their areas of special competence and interest and providing a vita and sample of their writing, preferably a book review or other publication. Reviewers are sent detailed instructions at the time the reviews are commissioned. Authors of book reviews should submit their papers via the submission portal.
Publishers should send book announcements and two review copies directly to the book review editor. Two copies of each published review will be forwarded to the book's publisher.
Submission of proposed books should include a brief discussion of how and why the book would be relevant to Div. 10 members (how is this related to the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts?).
If the book is not fundamentally focused on aesthetics, creativity, or the arts, and specifically the psychology of these, or is likely to have a strong interest among members of the division, we will not review the book.
Manuscript preparation
Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual).
Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual. Additional guidance on APA Style is available on the APA Style website.
If your manuscript was mask reviewed, please ensure that the final version for production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.
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.
Academic writing and English language editing services
Authors who feel that their manuscript may benefit from additional academic writing or language editing support prior to submission are encouraged to seek out such services at their host institutions, engage with colleagues and subject matter experts, and/or consider several vendors that offer discounts to APA authors.
Please note that APA does not endorse or take responsibility for the service providers listed. It is strictly a referral service.
Use of such service is not mandatory for publication in an APA journal. Use of one or more of these services does not guarantee selection for peer review, manuscript acceptance, or preference for publication in any APA journal.
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
McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review, 126(1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126
Authored book
Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000
Chapter in an edited book
Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones. K. P., & Safren, S. A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G. Y. Iwamasa & P. A. Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice and supervision (2nd ed., pp. 287–314). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000119-012
Figures
Preferred formats for graphics files are TIFF and JPG, and preferred format for vector-based files is EPS. Graphics downloaded or saved from web pages are not acceptable for publication. Multipanel figures (i.e., figures with parts labeled a, b, c, d, etc.) should be assembled into one file. When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.
Resolution
- All color line art and halftones: 300 DPI
- Black and white line tone and gray halftone images: 600 DPI
Line weights
- Adobe Photoshop images
- Color (RGB, CMYK) images: 2 pixels
- Grayscale images: 4 pixels
- Adobe Illustrator Images
- Stroke weight: 0.5 points
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
For full details on publication policies, including use of Artificial Intelligence tools, please see APA Publishing 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).
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
See APA’s Publishing Policies page for more information on publication policies, including information on author contributorship and responsibilities of authors, author name changes after publication, the use of generative artificial intelligence, funder information and conflict-of-interest disclosures, duplicate publication, data publication and reuse, and preprints.
Visit the Journals Publishing Resource Center for more resources for writing, reviewing, and editing articles for publishing in APA journals.
Founding editors
James C. Kaufman, PhD
University of Connecticut, United States
Lisa F. Smith, EdD
University of Otago, New Zealand
Jeffrey K. Smith, PhD
University of Otago, New Zealand
Editors
Amy M. Belfi, PhD
Missouri University of Science and Technology, United States
Thalia R. Goldstein, PhD
George Mason University, United States
Associate editors
Selcuk Acar, PhD
University of North Texas, United States
Dirk Bernhardt-Walther, PhD
University of Toronto, Canada
Evangelia Chrysikou, PhD
Drexel University, United States
Katherine Cotter, PhD
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, United States
Hansika Kapoor, PhD
Monk Prayogshala, India
Hod Orkibi, PhD
University of Haifa Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, Israel
Eva Specker, PhD
University of Vienna, Austria
Book review editor
Roni Reiter-Palmon, PhD
University of Nebraska – Omaha, United States
Editorial board reviewers
Manuel Anglada-Tort
Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
John Baer, PhD
Rider University, United States
Baptiste Barbot, PhD
Université Ceatholique de Louvain, Belgium
Roger E. Beaty, PhD
Pennsylvania State University, United States
Mathias Benedek, PhD
University of Graz, Austria
Aenne A. Brielmann, PhD
Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany
Beatriz Calvo-Merino, PhD
City, University of London, United Kingdom
Rebecca Chamberlain, PhD
Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Anjan Chatterjee, M.D., F.A.A.N.
University of Pennsylvania, United States
Dale J. Cohen, PhD
University of North Carolina at Wilmington, United States
Jennifer Drake, PhD
Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, United States
Frank Farley, PhD
Temple University, United States
Liane Gabora, PhD
University of British Columbia, Canada
Gernot Gerger, PhD
University of Vienna, Austria
Vlad P. Glaveanu, PhD
Webster University at Geneva, Switzerland
Mary Gregerson, PhD
Heartlandia Psychology, United States
Marie Forgeard, PhD
Williams James College, United States
Boris Forthmann, PhD
University of Münster, Germany
Michelle R. Hintz, PhD
Cadenza Center for Psychotherapy & the Arts, United States
Jessica D. Hoffman, PhD
Yale University, United States
Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, PhD
Yale University, United States
Thomas Jacobsen, PhD
Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Germany
Emanuel Jauk, PhD
Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
Timothy Justus, PhD
Pitzer College, United States
Maciej Karwowski, PhD
University of Wroclaw, Poland
Kyung Hee Kim, PhD
The College of William & Mary, United States
Aaron Kozbelt, PhD
Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, United States
Haley Kragness, PhD
Bucknell University, United States
Amanda Krause, PhD
James Cook University, Australia
Izabela Lebuda, PhD
University of Wroclaw, Poland
Helmut Leder, PhD
University of Vienna, Austria
Raymond A. Mar, PhD
York University, Canada
Alexander McKay, PhD
Pennsylvania State University, United States
Michael D. Mumford, PhD
University of Oklahoma, United States
Nils Myszkowski, PhD
Pace University, United States
Marcos Nadal, PhD
University of the Balearic Islands, Spain
Weihua Niu, PhD
Pace University, United States
Matthew Pelowski, PhD
University of Vienna, Austria
Jean E. Pretz, PhD
Elizabethtown College, United States
Roni Reiter-Palmon, PhD
University of Nebraska at Omaha, United States
Lauren S. Seifert, PhD
Malone University, United States
Paul J. Silvia, PhD
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, United States
Dean K. Simonton, PhD
University of California at Davis, United States
Martin Skov, PhD
Danish Research Center for Magnetic Resonance, Denmark
Andrea Livi Smith, PhD
University of Mary Washington, United States
Jeffrey K. Smith, PhD
University of Otago, New Zealand
Heather T. Snyder, PhD
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, United States
Pablo P. L. Tinio, PhD
Montclair State University, United States
Elizabeth Vallance, PhD
Indiana University at Bloomington, United States
Oshin Vartanian, PhD
University of Toronto, Canada
Edward A. Vessel, PhD
The City College of New York, United States
Darya L. Zabelina, PhD
University of Arkansas, United States
Student editorial board reviewers
Gregory Boldt, MEd
University of Connecticut, United States
Meina Liu
University of Rochester, United States
Rebekah Rodriguez
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, United States
Abstracting and indexing services providing coverage of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts®
- Academic Search Alumni Edition
- Academic Search Complete
- Academic Search Elite
- Academic Search Index
- Academic Search Premier
- Art & Architecture Complete
- Art Abstracts
- Art Full Text
- Art Index
- Art Source
- Arts & Humanities Citation Index
- Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Psychology
- Current Abstracts
- Current Contents: Social & Behavioral Sciences
- Journal Citations Report: Social Sciences Edition
- NSA Collection
- OCLC
- PsycInfo
- PsycLine
- SCOPUS
- Social Sciences Citation Index
- TOC Premier
- Arts Participation:
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 2020. In addition to examining the impact of arts participation on a diverse set of academic and nonacademic outcomes, the articles also address the critical role of motivations in arts participation and the predictors of engaging in the arts.
- Aesthetic Appreciation of Visual Art:
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 14, No. 2, May 2020. The issue addresses the effects of bottom-up processes on visual aesthetic appreciation, top-down processes on visual aesthetic appreciation, and examines novel models and approaches for understanding aesthetic appreciation in the visual domain.
- Creativity Assessment:
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 13, No. 2, May 2019. The issue provides a review of current practice in creativity assessment and existing measures, outlining common pitfalls, while suggesting important guidelines and standards for best practice in creativity research and directions for the field.
- Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts in Everyday Environments:
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 11, No. 3, August 2017. Includes articles about research conducted in everyday environments, including museums, classrooms, studios, natural spaces, and city streets.
- Creativity and Education:
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 9, No. 2, May 2015. The dozen wide-ranging essays, musings, articles, and studies discuss creativity in K–12 education, higher education, and educational policy and practice.
- Neuroaesthetics:
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 7, No. 1, February 2013. Articles discuss the history, scope, and methods of neuroaesthetics, as well as the kind of topics with which it is currently concerned.
- The Psychology of Creativity and Innovation in the Workplace:
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 5, No. 1, February 2011. Articles discuss creativity in the workplace, including problem solving; idea generation and evaluation; innovative behavior; and group and individual creativity.
- New Scholars in the Field:
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 3, No. 1, February 2009. Includes articles about creativity in the classroom; psychological perspectives on acting; creative leisure; new theories of creativity; translating visual into tactile art; intuition and inhibition in adolescents; the creative process in visual art; problem identification and construction; unusual aesthetic emotions; and attention in creative problem solving.
- In Honor of Rudolf Arnheim's Centenary (1904– ):
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol. 1, No. 1, February 2007. Includes articles about Rudolf Arnheim and his contributions to visual thinking; Gestalt psychology; aesthetics; arts education; representational conceptions in two- and three-dimensional media; and in-between solutions.
Inclusive study designs
- Collaborative research models
- Diverse samples
- Registered Reports
Definitions and further details on inclusive study designs are available on the Journals EDI homepage.
Inclusive reporting standards
- Bias-free language and community-driven language guidelines (required)
- Impact statements (recommended)
- Participant sample descriptions (recommended)
- Constraints on Generality (COG) statements (recommended)
More information on this journal’s reporting standards is listed under the submission guidelines tab.
Pathways to authorship and editorship
Reviewer mentorship program
This journal encourages reviewers to submit co-reviews with their students and trainees. The journal likewise offers a formal reviewer mentorship program where graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from historically excluded groups are matched with a senior reviewer to produce an integrated review.
Student review board
This journal offers a student review board. Masked review is required.
Other EDI offerings
Masked peer review
This journal offers masked peer review (where both the authors’ and reviewers’ identities are not known to the other). Research has shown that masked peer review can help reduce implicit bias against traditionally female names or early-career scientists with smaller publication records (Budden et al., 2008; Darling, 2015).
