jcp-tables-figures

Tables & Figures (jcp-tables-figures)

When to trigger

• Your means tables show stars but not the effect sizes/CIs a reviewer needs
• A mediation result is buried in prose instead of shown as a path diagram
• An interaction is described but there is no plot of the simple effects
• Tables/figures do not follow APA format and the copyeditor will bounce them
• Exhibits across studies are inconsistent, so the multi-study chain is hard to follow

Exhibits at JCP must make the process legible

In a JCP paper the exhibits exist to let a reader see the mechanism, not just the effect. A condition-means table that shows cells without the contrast that tests the hypothesis wastes space; a mediation figure that shows the indirect path with its coefficient and CI earns its place. Build exhibits in APA Style (7th edition; 检索于 2026-06；以官网为准) — table titles and notes, figure captions, decimals and statistics formatted per APA — because JCP formats manuscripts to APA and non-conforming exhibits create friction at every stage.

What each exhibit type should carry

Exhibit	Must show	Common failure
Condition means	M, SD (or SE), n per cell; the focal contrast	a sea of numbers with no highlighted comparison
Mediation path figure	a→b paths with coefficients, the indirect effect + bootstrap CI	only c/c′ shown; CI omitted
Moderation / interaction plot	the interaction with probed simple effects (spotlight values)	bar chart with no simple-effect annotation
Moderated mediation	conditional indirect effects by moderator level + index	a single mediation figure that hides the moderation
Multi-study summary	a study-by-study row: design, N, key result, effect size	inconsistent metrics across studies

A path diagram for the focal study and an interaction plot for the key moderation are usually the two highest-value figures; they carry the process argument visually.

Reporting conventions (APA + rigor era)

• Report effect sizes and CIs in tables, not asterisks alone; readers must judge magnitude.
• Keep decimal places consistent and follow APA for statistics (e.g., italic test letters, leading zeros per APA convention).
• Note Ns before and after exclusions in the table or its note.
• Each exhibit must be interpretable standalone — title, note defining abbreviations, and units.
• Do not duplicate the same result in a table and a figure; pick the form that shows the mechanism best.

Checklist

• Every table/figure earns its place by making the effect or process clearer than prose would
• Mediation shown as a path figure with coefficients and the bootstrap CI
• Interaction shown with probed simple effects (spotlight/floodlight annotated)
• Effect sizes and CIs present; not asterisk-only
• APA formatting for tables, figures, notes, and statistics
• Ns (before/after exclusions) reported; abbreviations defined in notes
• Metrics consistent across the multi-study exhibits so the chain reads cleanly

Anti-patterns

• Asterisk theater: stars instead of effect sizes and CIs
• Buried mediation: the indirect effect described in text with no figure and no CI
• Naked interaction: an interaction plot with no simple-effect probing shown
• Decorative figures: a chart that repeats a table and adds nothing about the mechanism
• Non-APA exhibits: formatting that the JCP copyeditor will return
• Inconsistent multi-study tables: different metrics per study, hiding convergence

Output format

【Key exhibits】which table(s)/figure(s) carry the effect and the process
【Mediation figure】paths + coefficients + bootstrap CI shown? [Y/N]
【Interaction plot】simple effects probed/annotated? [Y/N]
【Reporting】effect sizes + CIs (not asterisk-only)? APA format? [Y/N]
【Multi-study table】consistent metrics across studies? [Y/N]
【Next skill】jcp-writing-style