Infancy invites manuscripts for a Special Issue.
Guest Editors: Robert Lickliter (Florida International University), David Moore (Pitzer College & Claremont Graduate University), and Meghan Puglia (University of Virginia).
Plasticity is a fundamental feature of all development. The study of developmental plasticity has shifted considerably over the last several decades, from simply demonstrating the existence and range of physiological or behavioral plasticity in individuals to a growing concern with which and how various processes can contribute to phenotypic plasticity. The journal of Infancy invites manuscripts for a special issue focused on developmental plasticity in early human development. We are especially interested in papers that investigate and demonstrate particular sensitivity to environmental factors that induce and/or highly moderate emerging skills, abilities, and competencies affecting typical and/or atypical populations during the prenatal, perinatal, and/or infancy periods (in humans, up to 24 months of age). We also welcome theoretical and/or conceptual papers on the general topic of developmental plasticity and the role that it plays in early development, as well as across the lifespan.
We also want to draw your attention to a parallel special issue on developmental plasticity in the journal Developmental Psychobiology (https://isdp.org/2022/11/23/call-for-abstracts-special-issue-on-mechanisms-of-developmental-plasticity/). The particular lens for the special issue of Developmental Psychobiology is mechanisms of plasticity in animal models. Clearly, the topic of plasticity is of interest to developmental scientists working across diverse areas of research.
This special issue maintains a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage submissions from authors who are historically underrepresented in psychology and related disciplines (including early career faculty). Authors who plan to submit a manuscript for the special section are asked to submit a letter of intent by April 1, 2023, that includes 1) a tentative title; 2) identification of and contact information for a corresponding author; 3) the names and affiliations of all anticipated authors; 4) a brief description of the study (500 words or less, structured as Background, Method/Sample, and Proposed Analyses or Results); 5) a brief explanation (2 sentences) of the perceived fit between the submission and our overarching theme; and 6) a brief description of the status of the project to ensure fit with the special issue timeline (e.g., data collection underway; data are already collected and in-hand; analysis underway; 200 words or less).
Letters of intent should be emailed as Word-document attachments to one of the guest editors (see contact information below). In the accompanying email, please include in the subject line “Infancy: Special Issue on Developmental Plasticity.” The guest editors will review letters of intent for fit with the special issue and work to provide the broadest representation of high-quality papers. Following a review of received letters, potential contributors will be contacted by May 1, 2023, to submit full manuscripts. Invited manuscripts will be due by August 1, 2023, via Infancy’s submission portal (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/hifc) and will be subjected to full peer review. Our goal is to publish this special issue by December 2023.
Questions concerning the substance of submissions should be directed to Gavin Bremner (), Bob Lickliter (), David S. Moore (), and/or Meghan Puglia ().