Psychology, Public Policy, and Law®

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law ^® provides a forum to critically evaluate the contributions of psychology and related disciplines (hereinafter psychology) to public policy and legal issues, and vice versa. It is intended to appeal to law professors, legal professionals, judges, and public policy analysts, as well as psychology researchers and practitioners working at the interface of the three fields.

The journal publishes theoretical and empirical articles that

critically evaluate the contributions and potential contributions of psychology to public policy and legal issues;
assess the desirability of different public policy and legal alternatives in light of the scientific knowledge base in psychology;
articulate research needs that address public policy and legal issues for which there is currently insufficient theoretical and empirical knowledge;
present empirical work that makes a significant contribution to the application of psychological knowledge to public policy or the law; and
examine public policy and legal issues relating to the conduct of psychology and related disciplines (e.g., human subjects, protection policies; informed consent procedures).

Although some of these issues may be addressed in articles currently being submitted to traditional law reviews, this publication uniquely provides peer review, scientific and legal input, and editorial guidance from psychologists and lawyers. Through publication in a single forum, it will also focus attention of scholarly, public policy, and legal audiences on such work.

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Psychology, Public Policy, and Law^® is a registered trademark of American Psychological Association

Editor

Michael E. Lamb
University of Cambridge

Editorial Board

J. Lawrence Aber
New York University

Karen Bogenschneider
University of Wisconsin

Elizabeth Cauffman
University of California, Irvine

Stephen J. Ceci
Cornell University

Deborah A. Connolly
Simon Fraser University

Graham M. Davies
University of Leicester

Manuel Eisner
University of Cambridge

Ira Ellman
Arizona State University

Gail S. Goodman
University of California, Davis

Thomas Grisso
University of Massachusetts Medical School

Kirk Heilbrun
Drexel University

Irit Hershkowitz
University of Haifa

Peter van Koppen
Maastricht University

Margaret Bull Kovera
John Jay College, CUNY

Scott O. Lilienfeld
Emory University

Friedrich Losel
University of Cambridge

Thomas D. Lyon
University of Southern California

Kathleen McCartney
Harvard University

Christian A. Meissner
University of Texas, El Paso

Kristin A. Moore
Child Trends, Washington, DC

John E. B. Myers
Pacific University

Patrick Parkinson
University of Sydney

Deborah A. Phillips
Georgetown University

Margaret-Ellen Pipe
Brooklyn College

Martine Powell
Deakin University, Australia

Jeffrey J. Rachlinski
Cornell Law School

Allison D. Redlich
University of New York, Albany

N. Dickon Reppucci
University of Virginia

Kim P. Roberts
Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada

Jennifer L. Skeem
University of California, Irvine

Laurence Steinberg
Temple University

Cheryl Thomas
University College London

Aldert Vrij
University of Portsmouth

Lois A. Weithorn
UC Hastings College of Law

Gary L. Wells
Iowa State University

Abstracting and indexing services providing coverage of Psychology, Public Policy, and Law^®

Criminal Justice Abstracts
Current Contents
Family Index
Journals@Ovid
PsycINFO
PubMed
SCOPUS
Social Sciences Citation Index

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

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law^® is now using a software system to screen submitted content for similarity with other published content. The system compares each submitted manuscript against a database of 25+ million scholarly publications, as well as content appearing on the open web.

This allows APA to check submissions for potential overlap with material previously published in scholarly journals (e.g., lifted or republished material). A similarity report will be generated by the system and provided to the Psychology, Public Policy, and Law Editorial office for review immediately upon submission.

Submit manuscripts electronically through the Manuscript Submission Portal. Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word or Open Office format.

Michael E. Lamb
Department of Psychology
University of Cambridge
Free School Lane
Cambridge CB2 3RQ
United Kingdom

General correspondence should be directed to the Editor.

The journal encourages authors to write comprehensive pieces, rather than submitting smaller pieces to multiple journals.

In addition to addresses and phone numbers, authors should supply email addresses and fax numbers if available, for potential use by the editorial office and later by the production office.

Authors should keep a copy of the manuscript to guard against loss.

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law encourages the submission by scholars of empirical studies, as well as theoretical, conceptual, and critical reviews dealing with psychology and with relevant information derived from related disciplines, law, and policy studies.

Masked Review Policy

This journal has adopted a policy of masked review for all submissions.

Each copy of the manuscript must include a separate title page with the authors' names and affiliations, and these should not appear anywhere else in the manuscript. Footnotes that identify the authors must be typed on a separate page.

Authors must make every effort to see that the manuscript itself contains no clues to their identities.

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 (6^th 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 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.

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 now place supplementary 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, EPS, or PowerPoint 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.

Original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay

$255 for one figure
$425 for two figures
$575 for three figures
$675 for four figures
$55 for each additional 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, for example, test materials (or portions thereof) and photographs of people.

Download Permissions Alert Form (PDF, 47KB)

Publication Policies

APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.

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).

Download Disclosure of Interests Form (PDF, 38KB)

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.

Download Certification of Compliance With APA Ethical Principles Form (PDF, 26KB)

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

Mental Health Courts
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 11, No. 4, December 2005. The articles discuss issues in mental health courts, defining the concept, describing the reasons for its inception, and noting the controversies it has provoked.
Capital Punishment in the United States
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law, Vol. 10, No. 4, December 2004. Includes articles about Supreme Court decisions; the accused's competence to assist and consult in capital cases; attitudes toward the death penalty; dangerousness and risk assessment; the influence of victim impact statements; and jury discretion.
Pragmatic Psychology and the Law (Part II)
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 10, No. 1/2, March/June 2004. Includes articles about termination of parental rights in light of attachment theory; forensic mental health assessment; offender profiling; the defense of extreme emotional disturbance; the Vermont Defendant Accommodation Project; and infant mental health interventions in juvenile court.
Pragmatic Psychology and the Law (Part I)
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 9, No. 3/4, September/December 2003. Includes articles about pragmatic forensic psychology; expert testimony from mental health professionals; forensics and the institutional epistemology of the courts; psycholegal problems in the criminal justice system; transfer of juveniles to adult court; and competency to stand trial.
Preventive Outpatient Commitment for Persons With Serious Mental Illness
Special Issue of the journal Psychology, Public Policy, and the Law, Vol. 9, No. 1/2, March/June 2003.
The Other-Race Effect and Contemporary Criminal Justice
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 7, No. 1, March 2001. Articles discuss racial categorization of faces; own-race bias; face recognition; postdictors of eyewitness errors; cross-race effect; White juror bias; cross-racial identification testimony; and cross-racial false alarms in contemporary criminal justice.
The Jury Instruction Process
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 6, No. 3, September 2000. Includes articles about jury instructions and the impact on corrections of juror judgments; the influence of personality on reactions to judicial instructions; understanding the limits of limiting instructions:pretrial publicity and inadmissible evidence; general damages in personal injury cases; precision and flexibility in explaining "beyond a reasonable doubt"; and juror comprehension and public policy.
Hastened Death
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2000. The special issue focuses on the first year of Oregon's Death With Dignity Act, including sources of opposition to physician-assisted suicide; the medicalization of control; guidelines for assessing mental capacity and impaired judgment; competency and common law; physicians' decisions about patient capacity; guidelines for assessments; experiences and practical guidelines from the Netherlands; depression and the right to die; methodological issues in assisted suicide and euthanasia research; and steps to improve the quality of life for people who are dying.
Ranking Ourselves
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 6, No. 1, March 2000. Includes articles about intelligence testing, affirmative action, and educational policy; use of standardized tests in college admissions; conceptual foundations of IQ testing; predicting later labor market outcomes; the dilemma of group differences; bias in mental testing; IQ and special education; curriculum-based external exit exam systems; and use of general intelligence measures for employment screening.
Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Preventive Law
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 5, No. 4, December 1999. Articles discuss therapeutic jurisprudence and preventive law in terms of creative problem solving; professional responsibility; the law–business paradigm debate; child welfare proceedings; collaborative law in divorce proceedings; relapse prevention planning principles; plea bargaining and sentencing; alternative dispute resolution; mediation; and emotional intelligence and legal education.
Sexual Harassment
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 5, No. 3, September 1999. Includes articles about the reasonable victim standard in hostile workplace sexual harassment cases; utility of the reasonable woman legal standard in hostile environment sexual harassment cases; sexual harassment of men; gender stereotyping in sex discrimination; arbitration and mediation; the abuse defense in sexual harassment litigation; and cross-cultural exploration of factors affecting reactions to sexual harassment.
Hearsay Testimony in Trials Involving Child Witnesses
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 5, No. 2, June 1999. Includes articles about innovations for child witnesses; perspectives from the United Kingdom; child hearsay statutes; child witnesses in the Canadian criminal courts; reliability of hearsay testimony; effects of suggestion; jurors' perceptions; effect of witness age; conviction rates; and hearing and believing hearsay.
Daubert's Meanings for the Admissibility of Behavioral and Social Science Evidence
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law, Vol. 5, No. 1, March 1999. Includes articles about the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1993 decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on admissability of evidence in disability; mental capacity; business litigation; expert testimony; criminal trials; and polygraph tests.
Final Report of the APA Working Group on Investigation of Memories of Childhood Abuse
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1998. The report presented includes substantive reviews of the applicable literature on childhood abuse and trauma and memory as well as clear recommendations for future research and training.
Sex Offenders
Special issue of the APA journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law, Vol. 4, No. 1/2, March/June 1998. The articles analyze sex offender law in its historical context, the science of sex offenders (including risk assessment, treatment, and prevention), legal theory relating to sex offender law, evidentiary and remedial issues, and policy issues.

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