Welcome to BMC Psychology, an exciting and innovative new publication outlet aimed at the dissemination of cutting-edge research relevant to the field of psychological science and complementary disciplines.

The journal is the latest addition the BMC series family and is the first dedicated open access journal of its kind in the field of psychological research.

As the journal profile outlines, BMC Psychology is an open access, open peer-review journal
that considers manuscripts on all aspects of psychology and human behavior, including
developmental, clinical, cognitive, experimental, social, evolutionary, and educational
psychology, as well as personality and individual differences. We welcome articles that employ quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches, as well as studies that utilize non-human subjects (e.g. animal studies).

A common denominator across all these areas of interest to the journal is rigor and relevance; both in terms of the scientific quality of studies published and their potential for public, practice and policy impacts. In addition to this we will also make a policy of accepting negative studies, thus aiming to reduce the impact of publication bias that may currently exist within the field of psychology.

The articles published today for the journal launch include a commentary on publishing negative findings in psychology written by our Section Editor, Keith Laws, which is also covered by the Guardian. More information regarding the journal and the importance of its launch as an open access journal in the psychology field can also be found in Section Editor Gordon Harold’s launch Editorial. In addition to this we have a Question and Answer article by Irismar Reis De Oliveira, Section Editor for the Clinical Psychology section, and a research article by Eleonora Baldonero and colleagues, discussing the association between HIV and impaired emotion processing.

One of the key distinguishing factors between BMC Psychology and other psychology
journals is that BMC Psychology will be open peer review. This feature takes two major forms: firstly, reviewer names are included on the peer review reports sent to the authors; and secondly that these reports are made publicly available online upon publication of the article, together with the various iterations of the manuscript during peer-review. This also includes the author’s full responses to the referees comments.

All medical journals published by the BMC series operate a policy of open peer review, as we strongly believe this supports and enhances transparency and impartiality in publishing. It also encourages referees to provide a thorough and constructive review, which may be used to help train the next generation of peer-reviewers.

We welcome submission of your work and the contributions you can make to help further
advance the field of psychological science through the pages of BMC Psychology.