Journal profile · Behavioral Sciences
Biological Psychology
ISSN 0301-0511 · eISSN 1873-6246 · Elsevier · NETHERLANDS · Monthly · Founded 1973
Biological Psychology: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.23; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,440; median 134 days to acceptance (115 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 149 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Biological Psychology is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies, Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes and Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control, together about 31% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cognitive Neuroscience. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Biological Psychology publishes original scientific papers on neural, endocrine, immune, and other physiological aspects of psychological states and processes. Such aspects include assessments by biochemistry, electrophysiology, and neuroimaging during psychological experiments as well as biologically induced changes in psychological function. Psychological investigations based on biological theories are also of interest. All aspects of psychological functioning, including psychopathology, are germane.The Journal is focused on work with human individuals, but may consider work with animals, if conceptually related to issues in human biological psychology. The Journal welcomes work that spans disciplines and methods and recruits an editorial team that is especially suited for handling such manuscripts. Empirical reports are the core of the Journal, but methodological and theoretical reports relevant to biological psychology are encouraged (see list of article types for more information). Finally, the Journal regularly publishes special issues on selected topics within its scope.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Behavioral Sciences
Editor-in-chief Thomas RitzPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 34, Germany 9, Taiwan, China 7, United Kingdom 6, Australia 3 (81 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeuroscience16.4%
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychology7.5%
- Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlMedicine7.2%
- EEG and Brain-Computer InterfacesNeuroscience6.4%
- Neural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience6.2%
- Stress Responses and CortisolNeuroscience6.2%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.7%
- Neuroscience and Music PerceptionNeuroscience3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Biological | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Biological | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Behavioral Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Biological | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.23LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.2LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.3LetPub ·
- h-index
- 107LetPub ·
- h-index
- 202OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,289OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.39OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 33.09%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 138LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,993 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 167 | 82 | 47 |
| 2025 | 149 | 73 | 284 |
| 2024 | 172 | 80 | 835 |
| 2023 | 189 | 93 | 1,802 |
| 2022 | 157 | 77 | 2,675 |
| 2021 | 173 | 80 | 2,806 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
134 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 96 days – 188 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (115 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 137 days
- Sample
- 115 articles with submission and acceptance dates (343 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 3–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 51 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 154 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,440 / EUR 3,220 / GBP 2,750 / JPY 426,660 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,630 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Highlights
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted6, with length limits
- brief reportShorter empirical articles that are based on less complex designs and/or communicate a limited set of novel findings are considered with a 2,000-word and 30-ref…Length not stated
- debateDebate Proposals for topics that would profit from a debate among experts in the field can be submitted to the Editors of the journal, as an up to 1,000-word sy…Length not stated
- empirical articleEmpirical Article This type of manuscript reports original empirical research in a standard format with sections Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.…Length not stated
- letter to the editorBrief communications about articles published in Biological Psychology can be submitted and will be evaluated by the Editors on their merit for publication. The…main text ≤ 750 words
- perspectiveTypically by invitation only (although proposals will be considered), shorter reviews that articulate an interesting perspective on a coherent concept, opinion,…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- reviewManuscripts that review the literature on a particular topic comprehensively in narrative or meta-analytic form are welcome; their typical length should not exc…main text ≤ 12,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review The Neuroscience Peer Review Consortium
Single anonymized review process. Model summary
Biological Psychology is a member of the Neuroscience Peer Review Consortium (NPRC). The NPRC has been formed to reduce the time expended and, in particular, the duplication of effort by, and associated burden on reviewers involved in the peer review of original neuroscience research papers. It is an alliance of neuroscience journals that have agreed to accept manuscript reviews from other Consort…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- Dutch
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1973
- ISSN
- 0301-0511
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-6246
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Biological Psychology
What CAS zone is Biological Psychology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Biological Psychology is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Behavioral Sciences / Psychology / Psychology, Biological / Psychology, Experimental. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Biological Psychology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.23; CiteScore 5.9, h-index 202.
How long does peer review take at Biological Psychology?
Based on the dates recorded on 115 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 134 days (interquartile range 96–188 days); authors report an average review time of 3–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Biological Psychology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: APA; Highlights: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Biological Psychology based?
Of the 81 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (34), Germany (9) and Taiwan, China (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Biological Psychology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Biological Psychology is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Biological Psychology open access, and what is the APC?
Biological Psychology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,440.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .