Journal profile · PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL
Cognition
ISSN 0010-0277 · eISSN 1873-7838 · Elsevier
Cognition: CAS Zone 2 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 3.01; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,910; median 238 days to acceptance (104 articles, last 24 months); 292 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Cognition is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 2 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Child and Animal Learning Development, Reading and Literacy Development and Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism, together about 25% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cognitive Neuroscience and Developmental and Educational Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
International Journal of Cognitive ScienceCognition is an international journal that publishes theoretical and experimental papers on the study of the mind. It covers a wide variety of subjects concerning all the different aspects of cognition, ranging from experimental studies of behavior and of the brain to formal analysis.Papers will be selected on the basis of their scientific quality, their degree of innovation and their unambiguous theoretical advance to the study of cognition. Paper's overall soundness of the argument and degree of empirical motivation, especially from converging sources, are more important than adherence to specific methodological principles. Studies that selectively focus on the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie problems with cognition in clinical populations or on purely methodological questions fall outside the scope of Cognition. Because Cognition enjoys a wide readership from many disciplines, authors should explicitly consider the general theoretical issues raised by their work and its relevance to other topics and methods. Materials should describe work done and methods used in a clear and explicit manner (allowing reproduction of the methods by others).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL
Editor-in-chief Ian DobbinsPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 57, United Kingdom 22, Canada 10, Netherlands 4, Germany 3 (109 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Child and Animal Learning DevelopmentPsychology11.2%
- Reading and Literacy DevelopmentPsychology7%
- Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismNeuroscience6.8%
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeuroscience6.5%
- Language Development and DisordersPsychology6.2%
- Visual perception and processing mechanismsNeuroscience4.6%
- Psychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentNeuroscience4.4%
- Action Observation and SynchronizationPsychology4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
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
- 3.01LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.61LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.64LetPub ·
- h-index
- 358OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,665OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.1OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 49.35%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 268LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,662 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 239 | 166 | 100 |
| 2025 | 292 | 208 | 687 |
| 2024 | 270 | 200 | 1,699 |
| 2023 | 259 | 159 | 2,834 |
| 2022 | 287 | 169 | 4,957 |
| 2021 | 341 | 194 | 7,859 |
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
238 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 188 days – 335 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 8 days (104 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 246 days
- Sample
- 104 articles with submission and acceptance dates (613 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
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 75 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 247 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double 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 3,910 / EUR 3,660 / GBP 3,130 / JPY 484,960 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,750 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Highlights
- Optional
Article types accepted7
- brief reportFull articles are theoretical and experimental papers on the study of the mind. Length: There is no word limit, but authors are encouraged to be as succinct as …Length not stated
- commentaryFull articles are theoretical and experimental papers on the study of the mind. Length: There is no word limit, but authors are encouraged to be as succinct as …Length not stated
- discussionsDiscussions are commentaries on published articles. Length: Typically no more than 2500 words long, excluding title, author affiliations, abstract, acknowledgme…Length not stated
- full articleFull articles are theoretical and experimental papers on the study of the mind. Length: There is no word limit, but authors are encouraged to be as succinct as …Length not stated
- full articlesFull articles are theoretical and experimental papers on the study of the mind. Length: There is no word limit, but authors are encouraged to be as succinct as …Length not stated
- short communicationFull articles are theoretical and experimental papers on the study of the mind. Length: There is no word limit, but authors are encouraged to be as succinct as …Length not stated
- short communicationsShort Communications are brief reports subject to the same standards as full submissions. Length: No more than 4000 words long, excluding title, author affiliat…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, 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 ·- Publication ethics
Original work not published previously Model summary
The work described has not been published previously except in the form of a preprint, an abstract, a published lecture, academic thesis or registered report.
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 Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
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. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- ISSN
- 0010-0277
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-7838
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cognition
What CAS zone is Cognition in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Cognition is in Zone 2 of Psychology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Psychology, Experimental; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Cognition?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.01; CiteScore 5.8, h-index 358.
How long does peer review take at Cognition?
Based on the dates recorded on 104 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 238 days (interquartile range 188–335 days). 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 Cognition?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,000 words; Reference style: APA; Highlights: Optional. 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 Cognition based?
Of the 109 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 (57), United Kingdom (22) and Canada (10). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Cognition?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cognition is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Cognition open access, and what is the APC?
Cognition is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,910.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .