Incoming editorial for the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

One of my clearest memories from graduate school is a piece of advice offered by Dr. Janet McDonald, a wise and caring mentor who taught a rigorous first-year statistics course: "You really want to aim for the top-tier cognitive journals, like JEP: LMC." That was my first introduction to what it means to publish in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition (JEP:LMC). Over the ensuing 2 decades or so, I had the chance to learn more about what makes the journal unique as a contributing author, a reviewer on the Consulting Editor board, and a guest action editor. Based on these experiences, I came to see JEP:LMC as a premiere outlet for studies that employ careful methodology, produce informative results, and articulate a clear theoretical framework for interpreting these results and relating them to other phenomena. As editor in chief, I will seek to maintain this high standard and build on the journal's strengths. This document describes the general approach that I plan to take as editor, and I hope to convey information that will be helpful for submitting authors, reviewers, and action editors. In general, I do not plan to make any sweeping changes. I am humbled by the accomplishments of my predecessor, Aaron Benjamin, and a long line of editors in chief before him. JEP: LMC has a consistent record of promoting the practices and values that support solid science, and my main focus will be to uphold this reputation and continue to make progress on research reforms. I see this editorship as a chance to play a small role in ushering in the future of cognitive psychology, a field that is currently in a transition period in terms of both methodological practices and theoretical perspective. I think JEP:LMC can play a leading role in this transition, and I hope to gently guide authors, reviewers, and editors in the direction of both more rigorous theorizing (ideally relying on formal models) and more sophisticated methodological practices that optimize the value of open science tools and modern approaches to statistical inference. I also hope to expand the pool of contributors by helping a diverse array of early-career scientists learn the keys to success in the journal. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).