Overview
Submission Instructions
Recent Publications
Frequently Asked Questions
Research Topics
Looking to publish in Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science? Livewrite integrates seamlessly with Word to help you write, edit, and format faster.
Try Livewrite Now
JO
The Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science is the official journal of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science and publishes work on contextual behavioral science as a systematic and pragmatic approach to understanding behavior, solving human problems, and promoting human growth and development. It considers empirical studies, brief reports, reviews, conceptual and philosophical papers, practical innovations, commentaries, and registered reports relevant to a contextual behavioral approach across behavioral domains and levels of analysis.
Looking to publish in Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science? Livewrite integrates seamlessly with Word to help you write, edit, and format faster.
Try Livewrite Now
Subject
Psychology, Clinical
Impact Factor
3
Quartile
Q1
Open Access Type
Hybrid
ISSN
2212-1447
eISSN
2212-1455
Invitation Only
No
Cost Range
USD 3580 APC for open access articles; no open access publication fee for subscription publication.
Submission Instructions
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science accepts the following article types. Click on an article type to view submission instructions.
Empirical Studies
Cover Letter
Cover Letter requirements are not specified.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract must be unstructured.
Manuscript
Articles must be divided into clearly defined sections with brief headed subsections. The manuscript must include highlights, up to 6 keywords after the abstract, and a declaration of generative AI use in a section placed before the references when applicable.
References
References must follow APA 7th edition style. Reference lists must be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary, with same-year works by the same author distinguished as a, b, c, and all listed references cited in the text and vice versa.
Figures & Tables
Each illustration must be submitted as a separate file, captions provided separately, and tables placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must include captions, and tables must be submitted as editable text rather than images.
Reviews
Cover Letter
Cover Letter requirements are not specified.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required.
Manuscript
Reviews must be up to 10,000 words, including the abstract but excluding references, tables, and figures. Articles must be divided into clearly defined sections with brief headings on separate lines. The manuscript must include highlights, up to 6 keywords after the abstract, and a declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript preparation process before the references if AI tools were used.
References
References must follow American Psychological Association style, Seventh Edition. Reference lists must be arranged alphabetically, then chronologically if necessary, with same-author same-year entries distinguished by letters.
Figures & Tables
Each illustration must be submitted as a separate file, and tables must be placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must include separate captions, and tables must be submitted as editable text rather than images.
Scoping Reviews
Cover Letter
Cover Letter requirements are not specified.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required.
Manuscript
Articles must be divided into clearly defined sections with brief headings for each subsection. The manuscript must include highlights, up to 6 keywords after the abstract, and a declaration of generative AI use in a section before the references when applicable.
References
References must follow APA 7th edition style. Reference lists must be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary, with same-author same-year entries distinguished by letters.
Figures & Tables
Each illustration must be submitted as a separate file, and tables must be placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must include separate captions, and tables must be submitted as editable text rather than images.
Systematic Reviews
Cover Letter
Cover Letter requirements are not specified.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should be unstructured.
Manuscript
Word limits exclude references, tables, and figures but include the abstract. Articles must be divided into clearly defined sections with brief headings on separate lines. The manuscript must include keywords, 3 to 5 highlights in a separate editable file, and a declaration of generative AI use in a section before the references if applicable.
References
References must follow APA 7th edition style. Reference lists must be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary, with same-year works by the same author distinguished by letters.
Figures & Tables
Figures must be submitted as separate files with captions provided separately, and tables must be placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Tables must be submitted as editable text rather than images, and figures and tables must be numbered consecutively according to their order of appearance in the text.
Meta-Analyses
Cover Letter
Cover Letter requirements are not specified.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required.
Manuscript
The manuscript must include keywords, 3 to 5 highlights bullet points in a separate editable file, and a declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation placed before the references when applicable.
References
References must follow APA 7th edition style. References must be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary, with same-author same-year entries distinguished by letters.
Figures & Tables
Each illustration must be submitted as a separate file, and tables must be placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must include captions, and tables must be submitted as editable text rather than images.
Registered Reports
Cover Letter
A brief cover letter is required for Stage 1 submissions and a cover letter is required again for Stage 2 resubmission. The Stage 1 cover letter must state the scientific case for Registered Report consideration, confirm all necessary support and approvals, provide the anticipated study timeline, confirm agreement to share raw data, materials, and code, confirm agreement to register the approved protocol on OSF or another recognized repository after In Principle Acceptance, and confirm agreement to publication of a short summary if the paper is later withdrawn, while the Stage 2 cover letter must confirm links to the public archive of anonymized data, materials, and code and to the approved Stage 1 protocol, and must also confirm the relevant no-prior-data-collection or no-prior-analysis condition for primary or secondary Registered Reports.
Abstract
An abstract is required for initial Stage 1 submissions and should be updated at Stage 2 to state the results and conclusions. The Stage 1 abstract must succinctly summarize the research question, hypotheses, and proposed methods.
Manuscript
Registered Reports are not subject to a word limit and should be as concise as necessary for clear, comprehensive, and reproducible methods reporting. Initial Stage 1 submissions must include Abstract, Introduction, and Methods sections, with the Introduction covering the motivating literature and aims or hypotheses and the Methods detailing sample characteristics, inclusion and exclusion criteria, procedures, analysis pipeline, timeline, and proposed resubmission date, while Stage 2 must retain the approved aims and hypotheses, update future tense to past tense where applicable, and clearly mark changes to the Introduction or Methods. The manuscript must include keywords, a pre-registration identifier and registration location, highlights, a declaration of generative AI use before the references if applicable, and at Stage 2 any unregistered analyses must appear in a separate Results section titled “Exploratory analyses” with all changes from the approved Stage 1 submission tracked.
References
References must follow APA 7th edition style. Reference lists must be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary, with same-author same-year entries distinguished by letters.
Figures & Tables
Figures must be submitted as separate files with captions provided separately, while tables must be placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must be numbered in text sequence and tables must be editable text numbered consecutively according to their appearance in the text.
Empirical Research
Cover Letter
Cover Letter requirements are not specified.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract must be unstructured.
Manuscript
Empirical Research articles must not exceed 6000 words, including the abstract but excluding references, tables, and figures. Articles must be divided into clearly defined sections with brief headings on separate lines. The manuscript must include highlights, up to 6 keywords after the abstract, and a declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies before the references when applicable.
References
References must follow APA 7th edition style. References must be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary, and every reference list entry must be cited in the text and vice versa.
Figures & Tables
Each illustration must be submitted as a separate file, and tables must be placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must include captions and tables must be submitted as editable text rather than images.
Brief Reports
Cover Letter
Cover Letter requirements are not specified.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required.
Manuscript
Articles must be divided into clearly defined sections with brief headings on separate lines. The manuscript must include keywords, highlights, and a declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript preparation process before the references when applicable.
References
References must follow APA Style, 7th edition. References must be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary, with same-author same-year entries distinguished by letters.
Figures & Tables
Figures must be submitted as separate files with captions provided separately, and tables must be placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must be numbered according to their sequence in the text and tables must be submitted as editable text rather than images.
Brief Empirical Reports
Cover Letter
Cover Letter requirements are not specified.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required.
Manuscript
Brief Empirical Reports must be no more than 3000 words, including the abstract but excluding references, tables, and figures. Articles must be divided into clearly defined sections. The manuscript must include highlights, up to 6 keywords, and a declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript preparation process before the references when applicable.
References
References must follow APA style, 7th edition. Reference lists must be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if necessary, with same-author same-year works distinguished by letters.
Figures & Tables
Figures must be submitted as separate files with separate captions, and tables must be placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must include captions and tables must be submitted as editable text rather than images.
Recent Publications
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) interventions for digital Technology-related issues: A scoping review
Katy Packer, Jessica L. Kingston, Marc S. Tibber
10.1016/j.jcbs.2026.101003
View Publication
Prompt carefully! ChatGPT displays rule-based insensitivity to contingencies
Francisco J. Ruiz, Verónica Cardona-Betancourt
10.1016/j.jcbs.2026.101012
View Publication
An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Self-as-Context Scale
Robert D. Zettle, Yeil Kwon
10.1016/j.jcbs.2026.101004
View Publication
A comprehensive psychometric evaluation of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for the Youth 8-item short form in a large sample of Finnish adolescents
Jaime Navarrete, Francesca Brandolin, Päivi Lappalainen, Carlos García-Rubio, Cláudia Ferreira, Juan V. Luciano, Raimo Lappalainen, Noona Kiuru
10.1016/j.jcbs.2026.101015
View Publication
Validation of the Acceptance & Action Diabetes Questionnaire in Spanish (AADQ-S)
Kathryn E. Kanzler, Yajaira Johnson-Esparza, Olivia Morris, P. Adam Kelly, Isiah Gonzalez, Raquel L. Romero, Luz M. Garcini, Lilian Dindo, Amber B. Amspoker
10.1016/j.jcbs.2026.100998
View Publication
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to publish?
8 days submission to first decision; 69 days submission to decision after review; 212 days submission to acceptance; 2 days acceptance to online publication.
Reformat to Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science using Livewrite PremiumIs a cover letter required?
A cover letter with author details is required separately for double anonymized review. It should include unanonymized registration details and access information, and may include justification for registration exceptions, registration deviations, or requests to omit the data availability note.
Reformat to Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science using Livewrite PremiumWhat are the publication costs?
USD 3580 APC for open access articles; no open access publication fee for subscription publication.
Reformat to Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science using Livewrite PremiumResearch Topics
Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Behavioral and Psychological Studies
Mental Health Research Topics
COVID-19 and Mental Health
Behavioral Health and Interventions
Eating Disorders and Behaviors
Resilience and Mental Health
Digital Mental Health Interventions
Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
Family and Disability Support Research
Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
Cultural Differences and Values
Mental Health Treatment and Access
Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies