Montclair State Professor Pablo Tinio Spearheads Growth at Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

Pablo Tinio, an associate professor of Educational Foundations, has been a co-editor of the American Psychological Association publication, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (PACA) since 2012. Under his stewardship, the quarterly journal recently received a new impact factor rating of 3.054 from Thompson Reuters’ Journal Citation Reports (JCR), making it the highest-rated peer-reviewed journal in the fields of creativity and aesthetics.

According to Tinio, the impact factor measures the number of times articles from the journal in the past two years have been cited in the JCR year. “Last year, we received a rating of 1.782, so this is a significant increase,” he explains.

“The 3.054 impact factor of this journal ranks it very highly compared to several other very prestigious journals in the fields of educational research and creativity,” says Tamara Lucas, Acting Dean of the College of Education and Human Services. “The growing stature of Montclair State University and the College of Education and Human Services is the result of important scholarly accomplishments such as this one. I commend Dr. Tinio for his contributions to his field and to the University.”

Tinio notes that while impact factor is just one metric used to quantify journal quality, it is nonetheless telling. “The new rating gives a good indication of the influence of PACA in general,” he says. “In essence, it means that the scientific findings and ideas contained in its pages are informing the work of others, that researchers are paying attention, and that PACA articles are being cited and making a significant impact on areas of study such as psychology, education and the arts.”

With a broad scope that embraces all of the arts – from visual and performing arts to music, film and literature. – the journal appeals to a varied audience that includes psychologists, educators, artists, art historians, museum professionals, and designers.   “This scope sets the journal apart from others,” says Tinio. While PACA receives as many as 200 manuscript submissions each year, only 12 to 15 are published each issue after undergoing a rigorous editorial review process.

Along with his co-editor Roni Reiter-Palmon, a professor and director of the Industrial/Organizational Graduate Program at the University of Nebraska, Omaha,

Tinio has developed a fresh editorial vision that he intends to maintain for the remaining three years of his tenure as editor. “I hope to continue what we have started, including publishing creative, interesting and sound research; further increasing the journal’s international visibility; and making the published research accessible to the general public and accessible to real world issues in schools, museums, artists’ studios and businesses,” he explains.

Tinio joined the University faculty in September 2014, and teaches courses in Methods of Research and Psychological Foundations of Education. “The editorial work and research I do is directly coupled with my teaching,” he says. “In Methods of Research, I try to bring abstract theory to life by sharing ‘lessons learned’ from my own research and journal editing with my students. Some of our most engaging and productive discussions have stemmed from such stories. What could be better than to include experiences from the real world of journal editing?”