The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance publishes studies on perception, control of action, perceptual aspects of language processing, and related cognitive processes. All sensory modalities and motor systems are within its purview.

The journal also encourages studies with a neuroscientific perspective that contribute to the functional understanding of perception and performance.

There are three types of articles:

• Observations facilitate the rapid communication of ground-breaking research of general interest to readers of the journal. Observations are limited to 2,000 words in the main body of the text. A cover letter should explain why the research is appropriate to present as an Observation.
• Reports consist of empirical studies that increase theoretical understanding of human perception and performance. Studies will typically include human data, although machine and animal studies that reflect on human capabilities may also be published. Should an author submit a full Report following an Observation, the relationship between the two manuscripts must be acknowledged in an author footnote.
• Commentary may occasionally be published consisting of nonempirical reports, theoretical notes, or criticism on topics pertinent to the journal's concerns.