Possibility Studies & Society
Its main themes are creativity, imagination, innovation, agency, improvisation, serendipity, wonder, counterfactual thinking, pretend play, the future, anticipation, utopia / dystopia and social and technological change. However, all submissions that reflect on the antecedents, processes, and consequences of exploring, expanding or constraining possibilities for individuals, communities and society will be considered.
Possibility Studies and Society is interdisciplinary in nature and welcomes contributions from psychologists, philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, educators, designers, engineers, arts and creative industries specialists, as well as anyone with an interest in psychological, social, technological, cultural and political possibilities as they play out at an individual, group and societal level.
While the journal has an ongoing and open call for contributions, most of its issues are thematic, including both invited and uninvited submissions relevant for the given theme. All submissions will be subjected to rigorous, blind peer review.
Possibility Studies and Society publishes theoretical inquiries, empirical research and practical applications into human and social possibilities and impossibilities, considered in psychological, material, technological, cultural, and political terms.
Its main themes are creativity, imagination, innovation, agency, improvisation, serendipity, wonder, counterfactual thinking, pretend play, the future, anticipation, utopia / dystopia and social and technological change. However, all submissions that reflect on the antecedents, processes, and consequences of exploring, expanding or constraining possibilities for individuals, communities and society will be considered.
Possibility Studies and Society is interdisciplinary in nature and welcomes contributions from psychologists, philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, educators, designers, engineers, arts and creative industries specialists, as well as anyone with an interest in psychological, social, technological, cultural and political possibilities as they play out at an individual, group and societal level.
While the journal has an ongoing and open call for contributions, most of its issues are thematic, including both invited and uninvited submissions relevant for the given theme. All submissions will be subjected to rigorous, blind peer review.
| Vlad Petre Glaveanu | Dublin City University, Ireland |
| Wendy Ross | London Metropolitan University, UK |
| Sergio Agnoli | University of Trieste, Italy |
| Samantha Copeland | TU Delft, The Netherlands |
| Izabela Lebuda | University of Wroclaw, Poland |
| Roy F. Baumeister | The University of Queensland, Australia |
| Ronald A. Beghetto | University of Connecticut |
| Kiene Brillenburg Wurth | Utrecht University, The Netherlands |
| Kerry Chappell | University of Exeter, UK |
| Giovanni Corazza | University of Bologna, Italy |
| Nathan Crilly | University of Cambridge, UK |
| Andrea Gaggioli | Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Italy |
| Alex Gillespie | London School of Economics, UK |
| Michael Hanchett Hanson | Teachers College, Columbia University, USA |
| Daniel Harris | RMIT University, Australia |
| Na Na Anna Hui | City University of Hong Kong, China |
| Zorana Ivcevic Pringle | Yale University, USA |
| Ingunn Johanne Ness | University of Bergen, Norway |
| Maciej Karwowski | University of Wroclaw, Poland |
| James C. Kaufman | University of Connecticut, USA |
| Bem Le Hunte | University of Technology Sydney, Australia |
| Ioana Literat | Teachers College, Columbia University, USA |
| Todd Lubart | University of Paris, France |
| Lorenzo Magnani | University of Pavia, Italy |
| Lambros Malafouris | Oxford University, UK |
| Alfonso Montuori | California Institute of Integral Studies, USA |
| Takeshi Okada | University of Tokyo, Japan |
| Thomas Ormerod | University of Sussex |
| Roberto Poli | University of Trento, Italy |
| Maria Eunice Quilici Gonzalez | São Paulo State University, Brazil |
| Roni Reiter-Palmon | University of Nebraska Omaha, USA |
| Zayda Sierra | University of Antioquia, Colombia |
| Dean K. Simonton | |
| Min Tang | University of Applied Management, Germany |
| Thomas Teo | York University, Canada |
| Jaan Valsiner | Aalborg University, Denmark |
| Miguel John Versluys | Leiden University, the Netherlands |
| Brady Wagoner | Aalborg University, Denmark |
| Luciana Dantas de Paula | University of Brasilia, Brazil |
| Vladimir Kolzeev | City University, UK |
Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Possibility Studies and Society
Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pos to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.
Sage Publishing disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.
Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Possibility Studies and Society will be reviewed.
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.
As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that Possibility Studies and Society will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the Journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the Journal's author archiving policy.
If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.
If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal.
- What do we publish?
1.1 Aims & Scope
1.2 Article types
1.3 Writing your paper - Editorial policies
2.1 Peer review policy
2.2 Authorship
2.3 Acknowledgements
2.4 Funding
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
2.6 Research Data - Publishing policies
3.1 Publication ethics
3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
3.3 Open access and author archiving - Preparing your manuscript
4.1 Formatting
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
4.3 Identifiable information
4.4 Supplemental material
4.5 Reference style
4.6 English language editing services - Submitting your manuscript
5.1 ORCID
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
5.3 Permissions - On acceptance and publication
6.1 Sage Production
6.2 Online First publication
6.3 Access to your published article
6.4 Promoting your article - Further information
7.1 Appealing the publication decision
Before submitting your manuscript to Possibility Studies and Society, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope:
Possibility Studies and Society publishes theoretical inquiries, empirical research and practical applications into human and social possibilities and impossibilities, considered in psychological, material, technological, cultural, and political terms.
Its main themes are creativity, imagination, innovation, agency, improvisation, serendipity, wonder, counterfactual thinking, pretend play, the future, anticipation, utopia / dystopia and social and technological change. However, all submissions that reflect on the antecedents, processes, and consequences of exploring, expanding or constraining possibilities for individuals, communities and society will be considered.
Possibility Studies and Society is interdisciplinary in nature and welcomes contributions from psychologists, philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, educators, designers, engineers, arts and creative industries specialists, as well as anyone with an interest in psychological, social, technological, cultural and political possibilities as they play out at an individual, group and societal level.
While the journal has an ongoing and open call for contributions, most of its issues are thematic, including both invited and uninvited submissions relevant for the given theme. All submissions will be subjected to rigorous, blind peer review.
Possibility Studies and Society welcomes submissions of empirical research papers, theoretical contributions, literature reviews, commentaries and book reviews. Articles should not exceed 7000 words (including abstract, title page, keywords, acknowledgements, references, and any appendices, as well as visual aids such as images, or figures) ; there can be exceptions to this rule but they need to be justified in the cover letter. Book reviews and commentaries should be around 2500 words and not exceed 3000 words. Abstracts and keynotes should be included for all types of articles.
The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources.
1.3.1 Make your article discoverable
For information and guidance on how best to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.
Possibility Studies and Society adheres to a rigorous double-anonymized reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties.
As standard practice, Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested reviewers.
All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.
Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.
Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.
2.3.1 Third party submissions
Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:
- Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
- Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
- Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.
Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.
Possibility Studies and Society requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
Possibility Studies and Society encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.
At Sage we are committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research. Where relevant, Possibility Studies and Society ncourages authors to share their research data in a suitable public repository subject to ethical considerations and where data is included, to add a data accessibility statement in their manuscript file. Authors should also follow data citation principles. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway, which includes information about Sage’s partnership with the data repository Figshare.
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.
3.1.1 Plagiarism
Possibility Studies and Society and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the Journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.
3.1.2 Prior publication
If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.
3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.
3.3 Open access and author archiving
Possibility Studies and Society offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.
4. Preparing your manuscript for submission
The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. A LaTex template is available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.
Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online.
Where a journal uses double-blind peer review, authors are required to submit:
- A version of the manuscript which has had any information that compromises the anonymity of the author(s) removed or anonymised. This version will be sent to the peer reviewers.
- A separate title page which includes any removed or anonymised material. This will not be sent to the peer reviewers.
See https://sagepub.com/Manuscript-preparation-for-double-blind-journal for detailed guidance on making an anonymous submission.
This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.
Possibility Studies and Society adheres to the APA reference style. View the APA guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.
4.6 English language editing services
Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.
Possibility Studies and Society is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pos to login and submit your article online.
IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created. For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.
As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.
The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.
If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).
Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.
6. On acceptance and publication
Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.
Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.
6.3 Access to your published article
Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.
Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.
Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Possibility Studies and Society editorial office as follows:
Vlad Glaveanu - vlad.glaveanu@dcu.ie
7.1 Appealing the publication decision
Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.
If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@sagepub.com