Search for a New Editor-in-Chief of
Learning & Behavior 

Deadline is February 15, 2026

Learning & Behavior (L&B) presents experimental and theoretical contributions and critical reviews concerning fundamental processes of learning and behavior in nonhuman and human animals. Topics covered include sensation, perception, conditioning, learning, attention, memory, motivation, emotion, development, social behavior, and comparative investigations. Formerly entitled Animal Learning & Behavior, this journal is a publication of the Psychonomic Society.

The role of the Editor-in-Chief is to select Associate Editors and an Editorial Board, handle manuscripts, assign manuscripts to Associate Editors, and interface with editorial staff and the Psychonomic Society Publications Committee and staff.

Appointment/Term/Transition
The term of the editorship is four years. The new incoming Editor will begin receiving new submissions on January 1, 2027. The outgoing Editor’s team will continue to receive and act on revisions in 2027 for several months, and their names will continue to appear on the masthead. Toward the end of the incoming Editor's third year of service, the Publications Committee may invite the Editor-in-Chief to extend their term by an additional one to two years (beyond the initial four years).

See https://www.springer.com/journal/13420 for more information about this high-impact, peer-reviewed journal. Here are a few details not provided on that page:

Submissions
These are the numbers of new submissions in each of the last five years:

Learning & Behavior publishes four times a year (March, June, September, December).  Work distribution is approximately 80 manuscripts for Editors and 40 manuscripts for each Associate Editor (# TBD) annually. The Editor will appoint an Editorial Board with approximately 50 Consulting Editors, whose names will appear on the masthead.

Learning & Behavior aspires to act on 99% of new submissions within 60 days (and to act even earlier on as many of the submissions as possible). The Editor typically triages a non-trivial minority of submissions (i.e., rejects without external review manuscripts that clearly are inappropriate for the journal).

Emoluments
The Editor-in-Chief receives a yearly honorarium paid in two installments per year. The Editor’s travel to the annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society, which includes a meeting with the Publications Committee, is also covered, subject to the PS travel policy (note that accommodations are not covered). No additional budget is available for secretarial assistance or course releases (although editors can negotiate with their universities for reduced teaching loads).  The Associate Editor(s) will receive an honorarium, paid in two installments each year. That positions may be split into half-time positions, if needed.

Publisher/Support
Springer is the Society’s publisher. The journal currently uses ScholarOne (aka ManuscriptCentral) to process and track submissions, select reviewers, file reviews, and so forth. PA Editorial Ltd., provides Editors with support in use of ScholarOne. The Publications Committee and Executive Director provide support as well.

Copy editing, and other aspects of the production/printing/distributing process, are handled by Springer. Articles are published online within two weeks of acceptance.

Current Editorial Team
The current Editor-in-Chief is Lauren M. Guillette (University of Alberta, Canada). Associate Editors include Martha Escobar (Oakland University, USA,) Erin Rasmussen (Idaho State University, USA), and Anna Wilkinson (University of Lincoln, UK).

L&B Editor Search Committee Members
The L&B Editor Search Committee is being chaired by Tom Beckers (KU Leuven, Belgium). Additional members of the committee include Onur Güntürkün (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany),  Arturo Hernandez (University of Houston, USA),  Jessica Lee (University of Sydney, Australia), and Sydney Trask (Indiana University, USA). Other committee members may be added before the close of the Call.

Information about the Search
The nominations deadline is February 15, 2026. Self-nominations are welcome and encouraged. In a single PDF document, please send the following via email to Tom Beckers, Chair of the L&B Editor Search Committee and/or Claudia von Bastian, Chair, PS Publications Committee, at c.c.vonbastian@sheffield.ac.uk:  

• A brief message expressing interest in the editorship
• The nominee’s current curriculum vitae
• Names and email addresses of three referees who could speak to the nominee’s qualifications for the position. [Note that nominees and self-nominees identified through this initial process are not obligated to follow through and accept the editorship.] 

In late February/early March, the Search Committee will select a short list from among the nominees, invite those individuals to provide additional information (in particular, a statement of their vision for L&B), and solicit input from their referees.

Other Links
Submission Guidelines
Current Consulting Editors
Editorial Teams History

Recent Special Issues

• A special issue in honor of the contributions of Professor Nicola S. Clayton
• A special issue honoring Ken Cheng: navigating animal minds
• A special issue: In Honor of the Contributions of Sarah (Sally) Boysen

Consider Diversity
The Psychonomic Society is committed to scientific merit, which entails the inclusion of scientists of all genders, races, sexual orientations, countries of origin, geographical locations, and disciplinary expertise. Please critically examine your deliberations to eliminate biases that detract from our commitment to merit. The nominee should have strong scientific credentials and relevant editorial experience and who evidences the wide range of skills requisite to leading the journal in creative and effective ways. Our hope is that the new Editor will not only maintain L&B’s strong record of scholarship and impact but will raise the journal’s profile in exciting new ways.

Questions
Please send any additional questions via email to Tom Beckers, Chair of the L&B Editor Search Committee and/or Claudia von Bastian, Chair, PS Publications Committee, at c.c.vonbastian@sheffield.ac.uk.