Call for papers

Special issue on "How autonomic arousal can inform theories of cognitive processes"
Special issue editors: Nicolas Rothen and Matthias Kliegel

It is well known that, from circadian rhythm to acute stress, fluctuations in autonomic arousal can have an impact on higher cognitive functions. Interestingly, cognition is not unidirectionally affected. That is, higher arousal does not necessarily lead to enhanced cognitive performance nor does it always negatively affect cognitive processes. The exact mechanisms of how autonomic arousal affects higher cognitive functions seem much more intricate and to date not very well understood. While research in this interesting field is steadily growing, also its methodical approaches have begun to diversify. The goal of the current special issue is to provide a broad overview, to capture the rich methodology of the field and to highlight the respective advantages and insights gained by means of their application. Specifically, it is our aim to explore how different approaches related to autonomic arousal can enhance our understanding of implicit and explicit higher cognitive processes (e.g., attention, memory, reasoning). Submissions from all fields of psychology and cognitive neuroscience are welcome.

Should you consider contributing to this interesting endeavour, please send a short abstract to Prof. Dr. Nicolas Rothen, Editor-in-Chief of the Swiss Journal of Psychology, by 31st of July 2019. Your final submission is expected until the 31st of August 2019. We guarantee full peer-review within three weeks. In line with our long-term vision of the Journal, we encourage authors to share their data on Open Science Framework.

For enquiries, you may contact Prof. Dr. Matthias Kliegel, President of the Swiss Psychological Society or Prof. Dr. Nicolas Rothen, Editor-in-Chief of Swiss Journal of Psychology. We are looking forward to interesting contributions.