The Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science

The Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science is the official journal of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS).

Advisory Board

Steven C. Hayes, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

David Barlow, Boston University, USA

Dermot Barnes-Holmes, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland

Jan De Houwer, Ghent University, Belgium

G Terence Wilson,  Rutgers, USA

David Sloan Wilson, Binghamton University, USA

Philip N. Hineline, Temple University, USA

Editorial Team

Editor

Joseph Ciarrochi,Professor, School of Social Sciences and Psychology, University of Western Sydney, Australia
 

Associate Editors

Charlotte Dack, University College London (UCL), London, England, UK
Simon Dymond, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
John Forsyth, State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany, Albany, NY, USA
James Herbert, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Emily Sandoz, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA
Roger Vilardaga, University of Nevada at Reno, Reno, NV, USA
Matthieu Villatte, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA

Submitting- The Elsevier webpage for potential article submission is not yet available. We will post information here when it is.

Guide for authors

1. Overview

Contextual Behavioral Science is a systematic and pragmatic approach to the understanding of behavior, the solution of human problems, and the promotion of human growth and development. CBS uses functional principles and theories to analyze and modify action embedded in its historical and situational context. The goal is to predict and influence behavior, with precision, scope, and depth, across all behavioral domains and all levels of analysis, so as to help create a behavioral science that is more adequate to the challenge of the human condition.

CBS welcomes contextual behavioral analyses of phenomena that are relevant to the aims and scope of the society’s mission, which is to change behavior at an individual or cultural level, to alleviate human suffering, and to advance human wellbeing. CBS is also a strategic approach to the analysis of human behavior that proposes the need for a multi-level (e.g. social factors, neurological factors, behavioral factors) and multi-method (e.g., time series analyses, cross-sectional, experimental…) exploration of contextual and manipulable variables relevant to the prediction and influence of human behavior. In addition it places a strong emphasis in theory development and the promotion of effective practices that link back to scientific principles.

Papers relevant to a contextual behavioral approach include empirical studies (without topical restriction – e.g., clinical psychology, psychopathology, education, organizational psychology, etc.), reviews (systematic reviews and meta-analyses are preferred), and conceptual and philosophical papers on contextual behavioral science. We are particularly interested in papers emphasizing the study of core behavioral processes that are relevant to a broad range of human problems , and thus not limited to certain populations. Conceptual papers selected for publication may address a broad range of topics but generally will focus on contextual and functional variables or the philosophical analysis of contextual behavioral science. Papers that challenge a contextual behavioral science approach are always welcome. Papers bridging different approaches (e.g., connecting behavioral approaches with cognitive views; or neurocognitive psychology; or evolutionary science) are particularly encouraged.
The journal publishes papers written by researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians from different intellectual traditions. What is distinctive is not a narrowly defined theory or set of applied methods but whether the methodology, conceptualization, or strategy employed is relevant to a contextual behavioral approach.

2. Author guidelines for contributing to section on research.

We welcome research papers that cover a number of diverse issues across a breadth of domains using a variety of methods of exploration. These include: (1) basic research, (2) randomized controlled trials, (3) prospective cohort studies, (4) time-series analyses, (5) clinical trials with small samples from a particularly unique population, (6) secondary analyses (such as data from a distinct subgroup) from larger clinical trials, (7) animal studies, (8),qualitative and quasi-experimental designs, (9) developmental research, (10) experience sampling studies, and (11) review papers. Papers reporting null findings will receive equal consideration if the research is methodologically sound and the power is sufficient. The emphasis of these papers needs to be on why these unexpected findings are valuable and the implications for further research and practice.

Basic Empirical Research: Papers will be accepted that may not have an immediate clinical application but are able to show how the underlying principles have implications for how to influence learning, language, cognitive processes, and external behavior. These may include: small scale analog research; well-designed pilot studies of new applications of CBS, including assessment procedures; and research of the measurement of psychological processes, such as mindfulness, acceptance, self-stigma, attitudes, and psychological flexibility. A section on these practical implications or how such measurements might guide the development of interventions must be included in discussion.

Randomised Control Trials: Papers in this section include RCTs designed to improve mental health, other health related behaviours, cognitive functioning, or pro-social behaviour. Of special interest for CBS are those RCTs that include the measurement and testing of processes of change.

Review Articles: Reviews on topics such as psychopathology, developmental psychology, organisational psychology and assessment, social psychology, behavioural medicine, behaviour and learning therapies as long as there is a focus on the relationship of the context (e.g., environment) in influencing a wide variety of outcomes, including social behavior, well-being, preferences, learning, prejudice, self-stigma, creativity, and personality development.

Any research method will be considered as long as it contributes at some level to the precision, scope or depth of behavioral theory, broadly speaking. A balance within methodological rigor and study feasibility will be taken into account when considering the acceptance of manuscripts. In addition, manuscripts that bridge different philosophical assumptions (e.g., connecting behavioral approaches with cognitive views; or neurocognitive psychology; or evolutionary science) will be particularly encouraged since an objective of this journal is to spread the application and relevance of a contextual behavioral science approach. 

Each manuscript should include: (1) A title that reflects the overall study findings, (2) abstract, (3) an introduction to the specific subject matter, (4) a theoretical background and exploratory rationale, (5) a description of materials and methods, (6) reports of results for clarity, (7) discussion, (8) references, (9) tables and figures. One of the main goals of CBS is to make available to the public the maximum number of contextual behavioral studies being conducted, while at the same time providing the most effective dissemination of research findings to both researchers and practitioners. Thus research reports should be concise and to the point, and no longer than 5000 words including references.

3. Author guidelines for contributing to section on practice (In Practice: Applications of Contextual Behavioral Science)

The aim of this section is to make Contextual Behavioral Science accessible and directly useful to practitioners from a variety of areas. All manuscripts submitted for inclusion in this section should be easily understood by practitioners who are not experts in research or basic science. Manuscripts should be written in an accessible journalistic style and include both specific how-to insights for practitioners’ use, and remaining questions for future applied or basic research efforts.

b. Professional Interest Briefs

Manuscripts in this category summarize preliminary findings related to professional issues in contextual behavioral science such as: (1) professional training and supervision, (2) contextual factors in the therapeutic, educational, training, organizational or other milieu, (3) processes and outcomes assessment methods in professional settings, and (4) professional opinions on current issues. Papers appropriate for this section might include data from professional surveys or parametric studies of assessment or intervention techniques. Conceptual papers will be considered if they represent application of contextual behavioral science to a particularly understudied area.

4. Word limitations
 

a. Basic Empirical Research (word limit –  6000 words)

b. Randomized Control Trials (word limit -  6000 words)

c. Review Articles (word limit – 10000 words)

2. In Practice: Applications of Contextual Behavioral Science (word limit 3000 words)

3. Practical Innovations (word limit – 3000 words)

4. Professional Interest Briefs (word limit – 3000 words)