Journal profile · PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL
Topics in Cognitive Science
ISSN 1756-8757 · eISSN 1756-8765 · Wiley-Blackwell
Topics in Cognitive Science: CAS Zone 2 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.32; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,470; median 254 days to acceptance (85 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 42% (journal website); 56 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Topics in Cognitive Science is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cognitive Science and Mapping, Child and Animal Learning Development and Language and cultural evolution, together about 27.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cognitive Neuroscience. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The journal aims to publish exciting, often under-reported work of highest quality across the full range of cognitive science disciplines. Typical contributions are reviews and updates on new or emerging work, either in established areas that are experiencing an upsurge of interest or a major paradigm shift, or from scholars who do not consider themselves cognitive scientists and yet are still doing cognitive science work. Particularly welcome are also great debates and other forms of dialogue between different scholars and/or approaches in a field. The following kinds of proposals are particularly appropriate for the journal: a set of related articles on a joint topic – the ‘classical’ special issue spotlights on new and emerging research fields strong position papers combined with a broad range of commentaries great debates on controversial questions This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and alternative formats may be suggested. Controversies or debates started in one issue may be followed up by Letters or Commentaries in a later issue. Unsolicited stand-alone submissions will not be considered.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 1, Japan 1, Canada 1, Australia 1, Norway 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cognitive Science and MappingComputer Science9.7%
- Child and Animal Learning DevelopmentPsychology9.2%
- Language and cultural evolutionSocial Sciences8.8%
- Language, Metaphor, and CognitionPsychology7.7%
- Action Observation and SynchronizationPsychology6.5%
- Categorization, perception, and languagePsychology5.6%
- Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismNeuroscience4.3%
- Embodied and Extended CognitionNeuroscience4.2%
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 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPubMedPsycINFODBLPCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 3.32LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 8.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 8.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.19LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.8LetPub ·
- h-index
- 107OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 630OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.61OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 62.96%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 44LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 43Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 462,250Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,169 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 50 | 34 | 10 |
| 2025 | 56 | 44 | 108 |
| 2024 | 68 | 56 | 336 |
| 2023 | 83 | 76 | 935 |
| 2022 | 53 | 32 | 803 |
| 2021 | 69 | 50 | 1,298 |
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 Crossref · to
254 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 174 days – 345 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 26 days (85 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 281 days
- Sample
- 85 articles with submission and acceptance dates (124 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 42%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 42%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 18 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 18 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 221 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 25 daysPublisher 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 3,470 / EUR 2,900 / GBP 2,330 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- commentarypublished pages (ca. 400–1,000 words). Commentaries (between 1,000 and 2,000 words) are typically solicited by Topic Editors prior to the publmain text ≤ 2,000 words
- opinionOriginal Article: Reports of original research, with methods, findings and conclusions. Review: Overview of developments in fields or the current lines of thoug…Length not stated
- original articleOriginal Article: Reports of original research, with methods, findings and conclusions. Review: Overview of developments in fields or the current lines of thoug…Length not stated
- original researchOriginal Article: Reports of original research, with methods, findings and conclusions. Review: Overview of developments in fields or the current lines of thoug…Length not stated
- reviewOriginal Article: Reports of original research, with methods, findings and conclusions. Review: Overview of developments in fields or the current lines of thoug…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review 3.4 The review process
Remember that, as the Topic Editor(s), you will be charged first and foremost with managing your colleagues – often a very difficult task. You will need to ensure that they submit their first drafts to you in a timely manner; that they complete their reviews for you in a timely manner; and that for their second drafts, they do follow your editorial guidance and the advice of the reviewers (or prov…
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1756-8757
- Electronic ISSN
- 1756-8765
- Society / sponsor
- Cognitive Science Society
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Topics in Cognitive Science
What CAS zone is Topics in Cognitive Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Topics in Cognitive Science is in Zone 2 of Psychology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Psychology, Experimental. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Topics in Cognitive Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.32; CiteScore 8.6, h-index 107.
How long does peer review take at Topics in Cognitive Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 85 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 254 days (interquartile range 174–345 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 42% (2025). 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Topics in Cognitive Science based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (1), Japan (1) and Canada (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Topics in Cognitive Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Topics in Cognitive Science is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, DBLP and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Topics in Cognitive Science open access, and what is the APC?
Topics in Cognitive Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,470.
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: .