Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

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.

expand all Submission Guidelines

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 7 th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual). APA Style and Grammar Guidelines for the 7 th 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

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:

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

Line weights