European Journal of Personality, Editors' Report
Mitja Back (Editor-in-Chief) & Joanne M. Chung (Research Communications Editor)
University of Münster; Tilburg University
Life is characterized by diversity, including different ways of thinking, feeling, wanting and doing. Such richness is at the heart of personality psychology and we at EJP believe in openness with regard to the many ways in which personality is conceptualized, measured, and analyzed. In order to produce good science and to evolve as a science, we need diversity in the topics we study, our methods, and also in who does and has the chance to communicate this research.
EJP has been a home for in-depth contributions to personality science, and we continue to be committed to publishing creative and rigorous papers on all kinds of topics (including the nature, expressions, development, and consequences of personality), across levels of personality (including motives and goals, self-concept, reputation, abilities, interpersonal styles, etc.), and different kinds of contributions (including confirmatory and exploratory original work, pre-registered replications, meta-analyses, theoretical and methodological innovations). Additionally, we are dedicated to publishing work from researchers at all career stages, from all over the world. We invite ARP members to help move the vibrant field of personality research forward by submitting their best work to EJP.
Personality psychology, like many other sciences, is currently undergoing a paradigm shift in the way science is performed and communicated. It is moving from a more closed science that has focused on competition between labs and the authority of individual researchers to a more transparent science based on collaborative efforts and accessible empirical arguments. The Center for Open Science, the Open Science Framework, the Society for Improving Psychological Science, Collabra, and the adoption of open science practices by the American Psychological Association are proof of this. We at EJP have a very positive and optimistic view on these recent developments and actively support open science practices. Following TOP-Guidelines, we have implemented minimal standards of transparent reporting and we consider open science practices when evaluating the relative merits of each paper submitted to the journal. In fact, all published empirical papers that have been submitted since the introduction of our new guidelines have earned badges through Open Practices Disclosure from the Center for Open Science. In the next five years, we are confident that the majority of papers published in EJP will include full transparency regarding materials, data, and code. Furthermore, we encourage the use of preprint servers such as PsyArxiv. We especially welcome innovative formats such as Registered Reports as submissions and will formally introduce Registered Reports in 2018.
In the past year, our new editorial team has done a great job, and we are thrilled by the quality of the research featured in recent issues of EJP. These papers reflect the breadth of our field, including research on the social dynamics of college roommate relationships (Boucher & Cummings, 2017), the development of frustration and psychopathology (Jeronimus et al., 2017), the implicit self-concept of personality (De Cuyper et al., 2017), the cross-cultural value-well-being relation (Sortheix & Schwartz, 2017), affect regulation dynamics (Pavani et al., 2017), narcissism and prejudice (Cichoka et al., 2017), just to name a few. Recently, former associate editor Markus Jokela also edited an excellent special issue entitled, "Personality and Social Structure" that included work examining how natural disasters like a major earthquake can influence shifts in occupational preferences and values (Oishi et al., 2017), whether dissimilarity to one's peer group predicts peer victimization (Boele et al., 2017), and delineating which characteristics predict whether or not an occupation is in danger of being computerized (Damian et al., 2017).
For the remainder of 2017, we have two exciting issues of EJP ahead of us. Our annual European Personality Review issue focuses on the timely topic of integration within personality psychology. In one target article, Baumert and colleagues call for the integration of personality structure, process, and development. In another target article, Lievens highlights the potential of integrating insights and methods from personnel selection research into mainstream personality science. Each target article will be accompanied with a large number of excellent commentaries and rejoinders. Additionally, a regular issue will feature work on topics such as personality differences between job applicants and non-applicants (Anglim et al., 2017), genetic and environmental pathways underlying personality and perceived stress (Luo et al., 2017), and personality and smartphone usage (Stachl et al., 2017).
Here are some additional reasons why you might consider EJP as a home for your research:
- The overall average time to first decision is about 20 days
- Desk-rejections are usually given within 1 to 3 days
- After a paper is accepted, it appears online and in print quickly
- We provide direct support for communicating your research findings widely once your paper is accepted
- We grant a yearly award for the best publication based on a Master/Diploma thesis or a dissertation
- There is no word limit
- EJP's impact factor is currently 3.71
For more information, read our Author guidelines and EJP's 2017 Editorial.
We are already looking forward to seeing what the coming year holds for the field of personality psychology, and hope to receive submissions from ARP members in the near future. Please keep in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, and visit our blog!