The International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) seeks to foster the development of psychology as an international discipline. Its official journal, the International Journal of Psychology (IJP), aims at strengthening the dialogue within psychology around the world and at facilitating communication among different areas within psychology. As the new Editor of the IJP, I will strive, in a spirit of cooperative leadership, to contribute significantly to fulfilling the mission of the IUPsyS. I have always enjoyed the highly stimulating diversity existing within the broad discipline of psychology. This wide scope feeds, among other things, on the extensive cultural variety of the many researchers who regularly expand the limits of our knowledge about human behaviour.
My predecessor, Professor Claudia Dalbert, has passed on to me a publication of high scientific excellence, the scholarly impact of which exhibits a clear upward trend. In line with the substantial accomplishments of the editorial team that she has piloted, I will endeavour to enhance the journal's characteristic profile as an important agent in the advancement of scientific communication among psychologists from different sectors of the discipline as well as from diverse cultural regions of the world. In order to make the IJP even more significant in the growth of international psychological science, my primary task will be to promote the integration of scientific information. The research effort expended by psychologists, particularly over the past two decades, has been tremendously productive. However, this progress has been mainly in the direction of putting forward highly specialized knowledge, which can be accessed in a large selection of first‐class journals. While this fruitful thrust has enabled several major developments both at the conceptual and applied levels, it has also created a somewhat fragmented and dispersed collection of scientific information. Nowadays more than ever, no one can be a true specialist in several fields of psychology simultaneously. Hence the increasing need for scientific publications that facilitate more synthesized views and that attempt to link together scientific evidence obtained either within the many different areas of psychology or in related disciplines. But integrating scientific information does not only fulfill the important function of providing an extensive and articulated picture of what is known on a given issue. Indeed, it can also play a crucial generative role, as it can stimulate insightful new targets for subsequent scientific investigation. In addition, it can lead to the creation of new topics, the cross‐fertilization of connecting sectors, or the shaping of new intersections between previously isolated sectors. Such new fields govern, and sometimes assist, innovation at the conceptual, methodological, and technical levels.
In accordance with this central goal of integration, the IJP will expand its multipronged strategy encompassing a wide spectrum of publication formats. First, a focal importance will be given to a new format. In its Strategic Plan for the 2008–2012 quadrennium, the IUPsyS firmly expressed the wish that the IJP make a shift towards review‐based articles that facilitate knowledge dissemination. Accordingly, state‐of‐the‐art syntheses of the research literature on salient topics that are of international interest will be published. In our current era of globalization, possible themes for such reviews could involve, for example, profiles of subjective well‐being across cultures, decision processes related to behavioral economics, or the emotional, cognitive, and social components of reactions to natural disasters. These international reviews will analyze and integrate not only the scientific literature published in English but also the significant information published in other languages. In each case, a leading specialist on the theme involved will be invited to prepare the review in collaboration with a few co‐authors from countries other than his or her own. The invited, international reviews will be gradually integrated into the content of the IJP, the longer term objective being to publish several of them each year.
The IJP will continue to publish articles that report original empirical research, based on single studies or on series of studies. As before, these articles will focus on basic and applied problems combining features related to various areas within psychology or across relevant disciplines. The IJP will also continue to be the outlet of choice for studies on culture‐dependent psychological dimensions. In an effort to increase cohesiveness, particular attention will be payed to the grouping, within each issue, of articles that share commonalities in terms of, for instance, the problems or the populations investigated or the methodology involved.
Whole special issues will still be published as they are a powerful integration instrument. Indeed, in such issues, a relatively broad theme, which often links two or more areas within psychology and even reaches across related disciplines, is examined by different authors under the guidance of an ad hoc editor who is an expert on the topic involved. As they work in different regions of the world, it is possible that the authors selected by this editor will also address the central theme from different angles. Overall, special issues yield stimulating information, whether it uncovers convergence, contrast, or even opposition between the respective contributions. Smaller‐scale, special sections will also still be published within regular issues. Their goal and content are essentially similar to those of special issues.
Over the longer term, the format of target articles could be tried out as an additional integration agent. Hence, a well‐known authority on a broad topic having ramifications in several branches of psychology, or in neighboring disciplines, would submit his or her vision on a timely substantive issue. This central contribution would then be opened to discussion within a set of commentators, from around the world, who would have been selected not only among seasoned researchers but also from among promising younger ones.
Of course, it will not be possible for me to attain those goals without the competent and enthusiastic cooperation of an active team. This group of collaborators includes 27 colleagues (whose names and domains of specialization are listed on the inside cover of the present issue) working in a wide range of world regions. I will rely on the assistance of three associate editors who will exert full responsability in processing the manuscripts that are related to their respective fields of expertise. One of these associate editors is Professor Herta Flor. She will process manuscripts related to clinical psychology, health psychology, and neuropsychology. The two other sectors will respectively involve the domains of personality and emotion and those of social, cross‐cultural, and organizational psychology. The names of the associate editors in charge of these sectors should be made known in the coming weeks. I will personally handle the manuscripts related to cognition and cognitive development. I will also benefit from the support of an Editorial Advisory Board that comprises 24 specialists in various sectors. Their main role will be to advise me on interesting topics for invited reviews, as well as for special issues and special sections. They will also make suggestions on suitable authors for the invited reviews and on suitable editors for the special issues or sections. Finally, they will occasionally review regular manuscripts that are connected with their own specializations.
The editorial team intends to maintain and, when possible, to increase the international profile of the IJP. The journal indeed seeks to be the primary cross‐national, world‐wide platform for researchers in psychology. This mission is twofold. First, we would like the contributing authors, the reviewers, and the readership to come from as many parts of the world as possible. Second, we intend to offer a scientific content that resonates with strong relevance across geo‐cultural boundaries.
At a more logistic level, I want our processing of manuscripts to continue to be not only fair but also quick and efficient. The authors are thus invited to collaborate in several ways towards this goal. First, it is essential that, prior to submission, they carefully read the description of the types of manuscripts that are admissible for the IJP (www.tandf.co.uk/journals/pijp). This early check will prevent them from wasting precious time in submitting an unsuitable manuscript. The authors should also make sure to format their manuscripts according to the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (www.tandf.co.uk/journals/authors/pijpauth.asp). Finally, when English is not their first language, authors are strongly encouraged to seek the assistance of a person who is fluent in English to edit their manuscripts.
In order both to help the researchers who submit manuscripts and to ease the burden on reviewers, all submissions will be systematically triaged. Upon receipt, each manuscript will be carefully read in order to determine, first, whether it is admissible and, second, whether its probability of acceptance may be deemed sufficient to have the review process initiated. When either of these decisions is negative, the manuscripts will be rejected without review. This will be communicated to the authors within two weeks from receipt, along with general feedback on how to improve either the manuscript or future related research.
Finally, I want to address the colleagues who are the very backbone of the dissemination of high‐quality scientific information, that is, those who review manuscripts. It is obvious that agreeing to carefully examine a manuscript within a relatively short period of time is no trivial addition to a workload that has substantially increased in the recent past. However, should a growing number of colleagues refuse to perform this crucial task, this would seriously threaten the good functioning of the peer review system as a valid filter for high‐quality, reliable scientific evidence. I thus urge the colleagues who are invited to review manuscripts to accept the invitation. A serious effort will be made not to call on the same persons too frequently.
In conclusion, I look forward to the stimulating challenges of my four‐year term as Editor of the International Journal of Psychology. With the competent and inspiring support of my editorial team, I am confident that the journal will continue to increase its contribution to the advancement of international psychological science.