Nature Human Behaviour

Nature Human Behaviour is a monthly multidisciplinary online-only peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of human behaviour. It was established in January 2017 and is published by Nature Portfolio. The editor-in-chief is Stavroula Kousta.[1] According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2021 impact factor of 24.252.[2]

Nature Human Behaviour
DisciplineBehavioural science
LanguageEnglish
Edited byStavroula Kousta
Publication details
History2017–present
Publisher
FrequencyMonthly
Hybrid
24.252 (2021)
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4Nat. Hum. Behav.
Indexing
ISSN2397-3374
OCLC no.1082254684
Links

Controversy

In August 2022, the journal published an editorial article called "Science must respect the dignity and rights of all humans", supposed to counter "structural inequalities and discrimination in society" in science. It stated that editors have the right to amend, refuse, or retract content which can be "disparag[ing]", "exclusionary" or content that "undermines the dignity or rights of specific groups".[3] The article generated pushback among several journalists, intellectuals and academics.[4][5][6][7]

Psychologist Steven Pinker wrote that "Nature Human Behavior is no longer a peer-reviewed scientific journal but an enforcer of a political creed".[4][5] Journalist and activist Greg Lukianoff, the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, described the journal’s statement as "an epistemic catastrophe".[4] Journalist Jesse Singal wrote "What’s most alarming is that unless I’m missing something, research that is perfectly valid and well-executed could run afoul of these guidelines".[4] Political scientist Charles Murray wrote that "It is hard to exaggerate the scientific insanity this represents".[6] According to journalist Jonathan Rauch, the journal's job is not to stop science from “perpetuating structural inequalities and discrimination in society" and urges the journal's editors to not judge "what does and does not advance justice or harm society" but to simply serve "a community of scholars who collectively have infinitely more knowledge, wisdom, and experience than you do".[7]

In response to the pushback, the editor-in-chief of the journal, Stavroula Kousta, defended the article, stating that "Some argue that we should evaluate such research only on the basis of its scientific soundness and merit. I disagree".[5]

See also

References
  1. "About the Editors". nature.com. Springer Nature. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  2. "Nature Human Behaviour". 2021 Journal Citation Reports. Web of Science (Science ed.). Clarivate Analytics. 2022.
  3. Editorial (18 August 2022). "Science must respect the dignity and rights of all humans". Nature Human Behaviour. 6 (8): 1029–1031. doi:10.1038/s41562-022-01443-2. ISSN 2397-3374.
  4. Savolainen, Jukka (9 September 2022). "Nature Human Behavior Editorial Is Anti-Science". City Journal. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  5. Cook, Michael (27 August 2022). "Is politics invading a leading science journal?". BioEdge. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  6. Morris, John; Stonestreet, Shane (15 September 2022). "Science Never Just "Says"..." BreakPoint. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  7. Rauch, Jonathan (14 September 2022). "Nature Human Misbehavior: Politicized science is neither science nor progress". Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
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