What are the best journals for Psychology?

From an 88,000-venue index, the highest-ranked Psychology journals (by Scimago quartile then OpenAlex cites/paper) include Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, World Psychiatry, British Journal of Educational Technology, Nature Human Behaviour. Predatory venues are excluded. The full ranked list with open-access and indexing details is on this page; for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, use the free Journal Recommender.

How were these Psychology journals ranked?

By Scimago quartile first (Q1 → Q4), then by OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window. Cites/paper is a transparent citation rate, not a licensed Impact Factor. We exclude journals flagged as predatory.

Why don't all Psychology journals show a quartile?

Scimago doesn't cover every journal — many strong regional and open-access venues are absent from it. We show "no Scimago quartile" for those rather than hide them; it's a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

How do I find the best journal for my specific Psychology paper?

Paste your title and abstract into the free Journal Recommender — it returns a shortlist matched to your paper's topic from the same index, with acceptance-fit signals, open-access status, and predatory flags. No signup required.

Psychology · 1,184 journals indexed

Best journals for Psychology

The top Psychology journals ranked by Scimago quartile, then cites/paper (OpenAlex, 2-year window), drawn from an 88,000-venue index. Predatory venues are excluded. These are field-wide rankings — for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, paste your title and abstract into the free Journal Finder.

Match journals to your paper →

All Best open-access journals Highest-impact journals

1
Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development
111.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
2
Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
15.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Canadian Medical Association
Open AccessScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
3
World Psychiatry
13.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
4
British Journal of Educational Technology
12.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
5
Nature Human Behaviour
11.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
6
Educational Psychology Review
11.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
7
IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies
10.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
8
Cognitive Psychology
10.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
9
JAMA Psychiatry
10.0 cites/paper · Q1 · American Medical Association
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
10
Computers & Education
10.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
11
Computers in Human Behavior
9.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
12
Education and Information Technologies
8.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
13
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
8.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
14
Psychological Bulletin
7.9 cites/paper · Q1 · American Psychological Association
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
15
Journal of Educational Computing Research
7.8 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
16
The Internet and Higher Education
7.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
17
Perspectives on Psychological Science
7.6 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
18
JMIR Mental Health
7.6 cites/paper · Q1 · JMIR Publications
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
19
Counseling and Values
7.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
20
Clinical Psychology Review
7.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
21
Educational Psychologist
7.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Routledge
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
22
American Journal of Psychiatry
6.8 cites/paper · Q1 · American Psychiatric Association
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
23
Learning and Motivation
6.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
24
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
6.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
25
The Lancet Psychiatry
6.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
26
Educational Research Review
6.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
27
Sleep Medicine Reviews
6.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
28
Journal of Medical Internet Research
6.1 cites/paper · Q1 · JMIR Publications
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
29
Computer Assisted Language Learning
6.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Routledge
ScopusWeb of Science
30
Educational Technology Research and Development
5.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
31
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
5.5 cites/paper · Q1 · BioMed Central
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
32
Current Psychiatry Reports
5.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
33
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning
5.2 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
34
The Leadership Quarterly
5.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
35
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
5.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Akadémiai Kiadó
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
36
Psychology Research and Behavior Management
5.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Dove Medical Press
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
37
Learning and Instruction
5.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
38
Autism
4.9 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
39
Journal of Vocational Behavior
4.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
40
Review of Educational Research
4.7 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of Science

“Cites/paper” is the OpenAlex 2-year citation rate — a transparent signal, not a licensed Impact Factor. Many regional and open-access journals are strong but aren’t covered by Scimago, so they show “no Scimago quartile”; that’s a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

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