Instructions to Authors
The Journal of Social Psychology publishes original empirical research in all areas of basic and applied psychology.  Preference will be given to manuscripts that report laboratory or field research in core areas of social and organizational psychology including (but not limited to) the self, attribution theory, attitudes, social influence, consumer behavior, decision making, groups and teams, stereotypes and discrimination, interpersonal attraction, prosocial behavior, aggression, organizational behavior, leadership, and cross-cultural studies.  Manuscripts should be embedded in the contemporary literature, and initial review and acceptance will be predicated on the following: (a) theory testing, (b) citation of contemporary sources, (c) methodological adequacy, (d) relevance of the research and applications clearly discussed, (e) adherence to length specifications, and (f) compliance with formatting according to APA standards.

To submit the initial version of your manuscript, follow the guidelines below:
1.    Manuscripts must be no more than 8,000 words (or fewer) than 30 double-spaced MS Word pages). A manuscript of 1,000 words or fewer with no figures, tables, or appendixes may be submitted as a Research Note.  Manuscripts must be double-spaced, in Times 12-point font, and in a .doc or .rtf format.

2.    Manuscripts must adhere to the style and conventions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition.  Authors whose native language is not English should have a native speaker of English with knowledge of grammar and style in the U.S. context review their manuscripts before submission.

3.    When reporting a mean, always include its standard deviation. When reporting a regression analysis, always include its full correlation matrix. When reporting an inferential finding, always include a relevant effect size estimate. Include all degrees of freedom.

4.    Before uploading figures, please make certain that the meet the Figure Guidelines detailed at http://www.heldref.org/JSP_FIGURE.pdf.

5.    Go to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jsp and follow the instructions to submit a manuscript.  To ensure a blind review, do not upload any manuscript text e-file that includes author identification.  Manuscript Central will ask you to enter your keywords and abstract separately, but please make sure to also include this information in your manuscript.

6.    Manuscript Central will prompt you to enter the text and relevant information of your cover letter.

7.    The main document that you upload in Manuscript Central must be blinded and include an abstract of no more than 150 words followed by 4 to 5 keywords.  For suggested keywords, click here.  Choose 3 to 5 terms that best classify your subject (or create your own).

8.    Be sure to upload all tables, figures, appendixes, and equations as separate files in Manuscript Central. 

9.    In a single word-processing file, place the blinded paper including abstract, keywords, main text, and any appendixes, tables, figures, and equations.  Figures must meet our Figure Guidelines (download).

Our editorial board evaluates each manuscript in a blinded peer-review process, which takes approximately 3 to 4 months, not including any times of revision by the author. All accepted manuscripts will be edited to meet APA and Heldref styles.

To find the status of a manuscript that you have submitted through Manuscript Central, go to: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jsp, Log In, select Author Center, look at the step-wise list under My Manuscripts, and click on the items until you find your manuscript's description and status. (For help, click Get Help Now.) To find the status of manuscripts submitted otherwise, e-mail soc@heldref.org with Subject: "SOCSI" manuscript-number last-name.

To download our Book Review Guidelines, please click here.