Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice is a new, cross-disciplinary journal that encompasses neuroscience, social, cognitive, experimental, and clinical psychology. It publishes articles on theory, research, methodology, and clinical applications related to the psychology of consciousness.
The journal devotes substantial coverage to topics that traditionally fall under the rubric of consciousness, as well as the scientific study of phenomena and experiences long considered to lie outside the boundary of traditional consciousness studies, and presents clinical approaches to modifying attention and consciousness more generally.
Research areas of interest include but are not limited to:
- Attention, awareness, and automaticity
- The neuroscience and psychobiology of consciousness
- Hypnosis, suggestion, and suggestibility
- Meditation, mindfulness, and interventions for modifying consciousness
- Placebo effects
- Sociocultural effects on consciousness
- Fantasy, daydreaming, and mind-wandering
- Hallucinations and delusions
- Individual differences
- Consciousness states associated with psychopathology
- Phenomenology and measurement of conscious states
- Unusual/anomalous experiences (e.g., mystical and near-death experiences, effects of hallucinogenic drugs, déjà vu)
- Lucid dreaming, narcolepsy, sleep paralysis, effects of sleep deprivation on consciousness, minimally conscious states
- Dissociation (e.g., depersonalization, derealization, out-of-body experiences)
The journal will not review submissions related to the effects of specific drugs on consciousness or sleep-related experiences, apart from the preceding topics.
Psychology of Consciousness welcomes theoretical papers, critical analyses, and literature reviews; however, the priority is on empirical papers, including meta-analyses and studies that describe the development of psychometrically sound measures that represent an addition to scientific knowledge.
The journal welcomes methodologically rigorous clinical case studies (e.g., single-case time series studies) and groundbreaking pilot studies; however, preference is given to randomized controlled clinical trials.
The editor will consider proposals for special issues on theory, methodological issues, and clinical applications.