Acta Psychologica
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the guest editors, I am excited to invite you to contribute to a forthcoming special issue in Acta Psychologica titled “The Development of Innovation and Creativity in Children and Other Animals.” This special issue aims to explore innovation and creativity from developmental and comparative perspectives, offering an opportunity to advance our understanding of these remarkable abilities in children and nonhuman animals. We welcome full manuscript submissions up to the deadline; no presubmission inquiry or abstract is required. However, if you have any questions regarding the suitability of your manuscript, please do not hesitate to contact one of the guest editors listed below. Following an initial editorial assessment based on relevance and quality, all submissions will undergo the standard double-blind peer review process.
Please find the information regarding this special issue below:
Scope of the special issue:
“Our capacity for creativity and innovation, including with tools, are fundamental aspects of human uniqueness compared to other animals, and key to our capacity to colonise the planet and our remarkable technological success. Understanding creativity and innovative problem solving has seen much focus in recent years, including from developmental and comparative perspectives, yet our understanding of how these abilities emerge and develop in children, and how we compare to other species remain debated. While significant progress has been made in exploring the cognitive, social, and environmental factors that influence tool innovation and creative problem-solving in children and nonhuman animals, several critical gaps remain. Moreover, there is a need for longitudinal studies that track the development of tool innovation over time, as well as experimental designs that can disentangle the contributions of innate cognitive abilities versus learned experiences.
This special issue invites submissions that address these and other unresolved questions related to tool innovation and creativity developmentally and/or comparatively. We welcome empirical studies, theoretical or methodological papers, and perspectives that contribute to a more nuanced understanding or advance the field of creativity and innovation from developmental and/or comparative perspectives. By bringing together diverse perspectives and methodologies, this special issue aims to advance the field of developmental psychology and provide a comprehensive framework for future research to build upon within the field.”
Submission Details
- Final Manuscript Submission Deadline: 15 July 2025
Manuscripts can be submitted via the journal’s submission system:
https://www.editorialmanager.com/actpsy/Default.aspx
When submitting, please select the article type “VSI: Innovation and Creativity” to ensure inclusion in the special issue.
Guest Editors
- Dr. Gökhan Gönül, Cankaya University (gokhan.gonul@cankaya.edu.tr)
- Dr. Bruce Rawlings, Durham University (bruce.rawlings@durham.ac.uk)
- Dr. Karri Neldner, The University of Western Australia (karri.neldner@uwa.edu.au)
For questions about the scope of the special issue or submission process, please feel free to contact any of the guest editors.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.