APA Journal Editor Code of Conduct

As part of APA’s mission to promote a more equitable and inclusive psychology, the Editor Code of Conduct shares APA’s expectations for editor behavior in all areas of journal management.

APA is committed to editorial excellence; equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI); and setting standards for the field of psychology. Editors play a key role in this mission through the cultures they build on the journals they manage. Editors who act ethically and equitably strengthen APA Journals as an authoritative and trustworthy voice for psychology.  

Whereas the Editor Code of Conduct focuses on behaviors that promote a fair, transparent, and equitable culture, editors should refer to the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association, 2017), APA and EPF Editor’s Handbooks (American Psychological Association, 2022a, 2022b), and Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)opens in new window for guidance on ethical matters that arise during the publishing process and consult with their APA Publishing team as needed.

• Disclose any real or perceived conflicts of interest that may inhibit objective handling of a manuscript, and address any real or perceived conflicts of interest if they arise after a paper reaches a decision or publishes—see also Section 1.03, Reviewers’ and Editors’ Conflict of Interest, and the APA Policy on Intellectual Conflict of Interest Policy for editors and associate editors in the Editor’s Handbook (American Psychological Association, 2022a, 2022b).
• Recuse self from decisions, peer review, and discussion on manuscripts where any real or perceived conflicts of interest exist and advise associate editors to do the same.
• Delegate editorial responsibility for papers authored by the editor to another editorial board member or a guest editor. Specific guidance on handling submissions from editors and associate editors is available in the APA and EPF Editor’s Handbooks (American Psychological Association, 2022a, 2022b).

APA shares its vision for EDI across the organization and discipline in the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Framework (American Psychological Association, 2021a). In this framework, APA articulates several guiding principles for achieving success in EDI. Editors may use those guiding principles to inform an equitable approach to journal management by considering approaches such as:

• Considering each submission in an unbiased manner, without regard to identities including but not limited to race, gender identity and expression, religious belief, ethnicity, citizenship, career stage, or institutional affiliation of the author(s).
• Recruiting an editorial board and reviewer pool that represent diverse backgrounds, career stages, geographical location/origin, and standpoints to support fair and equitable review for all submissions.
• Promoting an equitable and inclusive environment on the journal; for example, by:
• acknowledging and managing power differentials that may prevent authors, reviewers, and editorial board members from providing authentic input and feedback; and/or
• expanding equitable and affirming practices to create inclusive spaces for individuals of diverse backgrounds and identities to engage with the journal and scholarly community (American Psychological Association, APAGS-BEA Work Group, 2023).
• Being cognizant of language in submissions, reviews, and decision letters that may be harmful—refer to APA’s Bias Free Language Guidelines (American Psychological Association, 2020) and Inclusive Language Guide (2nd edition; American Psychological Association, 2023a) for best practice.
• Consider reviewing submissions prior to sending them for review for instances that reinforce racial or ethnic stereotypes of superiority/inferiority and the possible implications of bias in the research methods (APA, 2023b). Refer to the APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards for Race, Ethnicity, and Culture (JARS–REC; APA, 2023b) for more information.
• As part of the editorial evaluation process, considering how a manuscript’s findings could be used or misused to cause harm to vulnerable groups. Work to address or mitigate these concerns during peer review. (APA, 2023b).

• Prevent unconscious bias (an attitude of which one is not consciously aware about a specific social group), and encourage editorial board members and reviewers to do the same; for example, by:
• developing a code of conduct for the journal;
• using a bias interrupter model (Equality Action Center, 2024);
• seeking unconscious bias training from your institution or an organization that offers such training; and/or
• ensuring editor and reviewer evaluations focus solely on the research and not the authors and/or their institution(s). 
• Acknowledge your positionality as it relates to the manuscript being reviewed—for example, how might your identity and experiences affect your perspective?
• Consider all manuscripts submitted based on appropriateness and rigor; do not make decisions based on race, gender, religious belief, ethnicity, citizenship, or career stage of authors.
• Final decisions should not have any outside influence, including from the editor’s employer or the APA, and should be made at the discretion of the editor, in consultation with editorial board members and reviewers.

• Provide editorial board members with clear expectations for their responsibilities (e.g., by encouraging timely and ethical peer review, clarifying the number of reviews editorial board members are expected to complete annually, etc.).
• Seek to expand sources of recruitment for the editorial board annually to promote diversity, engagement, and satisfactory performance. Additionally, the APA EDI Framework recognizes, and editors are encouraged to consider, that people have multiple identities; and that social identities are intersectional and have difference salience and impact in different contexts (American Psychological Association, 2021a).
• Support editorial board members and offer flexibility due to personal or professional circumstances (e.g., by lowering manuscript workloads, recording periods of unavailability in Editorial Manager to prevent editorial or reviewer assignment during leave, or offering quarter or half time associate editor roles).
• Distribute workloads as equitably as possible, including for co-editors unless otherwise agreed.
• Address editorial board members who engage in harmful, unethical, or discriminatory behaviors on the journal.

• Encourage timely peer review as much as possible; for example, by:
• assigning an associate editor or inviting reviewers shortly after receiving a submission;
• seeking reviewer suggestions from editorial board members or request an associate editor provide comments as part of the decision letter if you encounter challenges securing enough reviewers;
• if your journal is configured to refer to other APA Journals, consider referring a manuscript instead of rejecting it due to unavailable reviewers; and/or
• issuing a decision as soon as possible following receipt of all reviews.
• Use Editorial Manager to administer peer review and for communications about specific manuscripts so that a complete and transparent record of the peer review process is documented.
• Notify editorial office of editor unavailability and interim coverage plans.
• Mediate exchanges between authors and reviewers during the peer review process.
• Strive to maintain a reviewer pool that is sufficient to meet review needs of journal; and which includes diversity in areas such as social identities, geographical location/origin, study populations, and areas of expertise relevant to the journal’s content.
• Monitor performance of peer reviewers for quality and timeliness.
• Monitor reviews to confirm tone is not inflammatory or discriminatory.
• Avoid influencing impact metrics in an artificial and unethical way, such as requiring authors cite references to the journal the paper is under consideration with; or work by the editor or their collaborators, unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of all submissions.
• Uphold the journal’s peer review policy as identified (masked, unmasked, or author choice); and protect reviewer and author identities in compliance with that policy.
• Maintain consistent standards of peer review, including on special issues, invited papers, and commentaries as outlined in the Editor’s Handbook (American Psychological Association, 2022a, 2022b).
• Refrain from using content from a submitted manuscript in own research, except with explicit consent of the author; do not use knowledge of competing work in progress or submitted to a journal to influence decision on whether to accept or reject an article.
• Counsel authors to avoid defamation—see Section 2.14, Liability, Defamation, and Libel, in the Editor’s Handbook (American Psychological Association, 2022a, 2022b)
• Verify accepted manuscripts include assurances that all research has been approved by an institutional review board, if appropriate, and complies with ethical standards for psychology—see Section 1.06, Compliance with Ethical Principles, in the Editor’s Handbook (American Psychological Association, 2022a, 2022b).

• Maintain the integrity of the scholarly record by working with the chief editorial advisor and the APA Publisher as needed to publish corrections, retractions, and clarifications.
• Share any complaints of misconduct with the APA.

• Consider updating the corresponding author if the peer review process takes much longer than expected.
• Provide objective and constructive comments in decision letters.
• Ensure that all manuscript reviews sent to the author are constructive and professional in tone.

• Offer reviewers constructive feedback on reviews.
• Obtain reviewer consent before disclosing their identities or sharing their comments with a different journal (e.g., if referring a paper).
• Edit reviews if comments are inappropriate, but the editor should inform the reviewer if and why edits were made.

• Editors should not make statements on behalf of or act as representatives of the APA without APA’s prior written agreement. Only the APA president and APA CEO are authorized spokespeople for APA. When using public platforms (e.g., social media), editors should:
• make clear they speak for themselves and not APA, by including a disclaimer such as: “All opinions expressed are my own and not those of APA”;
• avoid using language such as “on behalf of APA” or “we at APA support/say/believe”—instead use phrases such as, “APA published” or “according to APA”;
• when endorsing a person or company, do not use APA’s name in connection with their endorsement;
• when approached by members of the news media, refer them to APA Public Affairs;
• do not respond to media requests for APA’s position on a matter;
• do not use their APA title (e.g., editor, Journal Name) or say, “as an APA editor, my stance is. . . ”;
• clarify they are speaking in their individual capacity and/or speaking in their professional position (e.g., professor of psychology at a specific university); and
• contact APA’s Office of General Counsel for questions about a particular situation.
• Collaborate with APA staff to resolve any queries about submissions, adopt best practices, drive editorial strategy, and support timely operations and publication.
• Be open to suggestions around optimizing processes and improving the author and reviewer experience.
• Be transparent with APA if concerns arise with workload or ability to perform editorial duties.
• APA is an equal opportunity employer and works to maintain a safe, fair, humane, and respectful working environment for all its employees; harassment and discrimination toward APA staff will not be tolerated.

• Through its Publications and Communications (P&C) Board, provide a governance structure to support editors; this includes a chief editorial advisor, who is available to advise editors on publication matters including but not limited to: disputes arising between editors and authors, and/or concerns expressed about the scientific integrity of submissions or published articles.
• Inform editors of their responsibilities, authority, terms of appointment, resources, and pathways for resolving conflict.
• Just as researchers are free to pursue their scientific investigations within the constraints of the ethical principles of the discipline, editors are free to publish science in their journals even when findings are surprising, disappointing, or controversial after seeking appropriate peer review. APA will not condone any attempt to censor the reporting or discussion of science within its journals so long as it has been conducted ethically and meets the scientific standards of the profession, as outlined in APA’s “Statement of Principle: Freedom of Scientific Inquiry and Presentation of Research Results” (American Psychological Association, 2009).
• Appoint editors in a nonbiased, equitable, and inclusive manner.
• Terminate editor appointments in a responsible manner, and only for substantial reasons including (but not limited to): failure to provide sufficient content in an acceptable standard for two consecutive issues of the journal, or circumstances that preclude performance of editorial duties for a prolonged period.
• APA will make every effort possible to support an editor if personal or professional obligations require less editorial engagement for a definite amount of time.

APA expects all editors to comply with the Editor Code of Conduct so that we can maintain an ethical, inclusive, and safe environment for everyone who contributes to the publishing process. APA Publishing will discuss lack of compliance with an editor, and this may impact their editorial board membership. Please direct any questions to your APA Publishing contact.

American Psychological Association. (2009). Chapter VII. Publications and Communications. Council Policy Manual. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/chapter-7

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

American Psychological Association. (2021a). Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Framework. https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/framework.pdfopens in new window

American Psychological Association. (2022a). APA Editor’s Handbook. American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association. (2022b). EPF Editor’s Handbook. American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association. (2023a). Inclusive language guide (2nd ed.). https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines.pdfopens in new window

American Psychological Association. (2023b). Journal article reporting standards for race, ethnicity, and culture. https://apastyle.apa.org/jars/race-ethnicity-culture

American Psychological Association, APAGS-BEA Work Group. (2023). Equitable and Respectful Treatment of Students in Graduate Psychology Programs. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/about/policy/guidelines-equitable-treatment-students.pdfopens in new window

Equality Action Center. (2024). Performance evaluations. Bias Interrupters. https://biasinterrupters.org/performance-evaluations/opens in new window