Special Issues

Contemporary Psychodynamic Science: Empirically Testable Models of Mental Functioning
Opening date: October 1, 2026
Submission deadline: February 28, 2027

Background
Over the past decades, psychodynamic theory has undergone substantial conceptual and methodological development. Alongside the refinement of its theoretical models, increasingly sophisticated approaches have emerged for investigating the mental structures and processes it proposes. While its central questions have remained remarkably stable-how people construct mental representations of themselves and others, how these representations shape subjective experience, affect regulation and interpersonal functioning-the ways in which these questions can be investigated have changed dramatically. Psychodynamic theory is therefore best understood not by its methods or its clinical setting, but by the kinds of questions it asks about the human mind.

Contemporary psychodynamic concepts are increasingly formulated as empirically testable models of mental functioning. Advances in conceptualization, operationalization, measurement, and research methodology-including psychometric validation, experimental and longitudinal designs, cognitive neuroscience, computational modeling, and psychotherapy process research-have created new opportunities to investigate these models across both clinical and non-clinical populations. This Special Issue aims to capture this transformation.

Aim
The aim of this Special Issue is to showcase a growing body of research demonstrating that psychodynamic theory offers theoretically rich and empirically testable models for investigating fundamental processes of the human mind. By bringing together diverse methodologies and research traditions, the issue aims to highlight how contemporary psychodynamic science can inform and inspire research well beyond the psychodynamic tradition. 

The Special Issue is organized around questions, including:

• How are mental representations of the self and others formed, maintained, and modified?
• How do individuals understand their own and others' mental states?
• How are emotions generated, regulated, and integrated into experience?
• How do implicit relational processes shape perception, cognition, affect, and behavior?
• How do defensive processes influence information processing and adaptation?
• How does personality organization shape subjective experience and interpersonal functioning across contexts and development?
• How do these processes contribute to psychopathology, resilience, and change in psychotherapy?

Questions concerning, but not limited to, self-representations, mentalizing, affect regulation, attachment, personality organization, defense mechanisms, unconscious relational processes (e.g., transference), and developmental processes are particularly welcome.

Scope
We seek contributions that examine psychodynamic models of mental functioning using rigorous empirical or theoretical approaches. Suitable submissions (as per standard ACP formatting requirements) may include:

• studies developing, refining, validating, or applying rigorous operationalizations of psychodynamic constructs, including psychometric and measurement research;
• experimental and laboratory-based research;
• longitudinal and developmental studies;
• cognitive and affective neuroscience;
• computational or modeling approaches;
• psychotherapy process and mechanism studies;
• personality and individual differences research;
• systematic reviews and meta-analyses;
• theoretically grounded conceptual papers.

Importantly, submissions should engage explicitly with psychodynamic theory or psychodynamic models, even when drawing on methods or perspectives originating in cognitive science, personality psychology, developmental psychology, or neuroscience. Particular encouragement is given to studies that compare psychodynamic approaches with alternative theoretical perspectives and examine the boundary conditions of psychodynamic models through rigorous empirical testing.

Submission Details
Submissions should be theoretically grounded, methodologically rigorous, and appropriate to the research questions addressed. Authors are encouraged to follow current best practices in research transparency and reporting, including the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines. Where appropriate, preregistration, data and code sharing (e.g., via OSF), and transparent reporting of analytic decisions are encouraged.

Submissions should be prepared according to the overall ACP author guidelines. Please submit the special issue manuscripts through the ACP ScholarOne system, as you would a regular submission. During submission, please select "Special Issue submission" as the submission type.

Submissions will be evaluated by at least two Guest Editors, who will review each manuscript and reach a consensus regarding the editorial decision. When needed, additional consultation with the Editor-in-Chief or external experts may be sought, particularly in cases of disagreement, conflicts of interest, or submissions requiring specific methodological or topical expertise. Authors submitting to the Special Issue may also be invited to serve as reviewers for other submissions within their area of expertise.

Lead Guest Editor
Monika O. Jańczak, Ph.D. (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland)

Guest Editors
Dominika Górska, Ph.D. (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland)
Emilia Soroko, Ph.D. (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland)
Dominick Gamache, Ph.D. (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada)
Orestis Zavlis, MSc. (University College London, United Kingdom)

ACP will consider special issue proposals on an individual basis. Please submit any such proposals to the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Peter K. Jonason (p.jonason@vizja.pl). The special issue proposal should contain enough information to allow the Editorial Board to make an informed decision. At minimum, this should include:

• The title, topic, and scope of the special issue,
• The list of guest editors (together with their affiliation, Google Scholar/ORCID pages, and contact information),
• Article types/topics/methodologies, and length,
• Estimated schedule (abstract submission deadline, review decision deadline, publication deadline).