---
name: psci-tables-figures
description: Use when building tables and figures for a Psychological Science manuscript. The journal uses APA 7th-edition style and asks that tables and figures be embedded within the main text near where they are discussed, and exhibits should show effect sizes and uncertainty. Designs exhibits; it does not run the analysis.
---

# Tables & Figures (psci-tables-figures)

In Psychological Science, exhibits carry a lot of the argument because the prose is so tight. They use
**APA 7th-edition** conventions and — unlike many journals — are **embedded in the main text near
where they are discussed**, not collected at the end. Good figures also help show **effect sizes and
uncertainty** that the format leaves little room to describe.

## When to trigger

- Designing the main results figure/table
- Deciding what goes in the article vs. supplemental online material
- A reviewer found an exhibit unclear or non-APA
- Visualizing distributions, individual data, and uncertainty (not just means)

## Principles

1. **Show the data and the uncertainty.** Prefer figures that display the distribution or individual
   points with means and **confidence intervals** (e.g., violin/dot + interval) over bar-of-means
   plots that hide variability. Magnitude and uncertainty should be visible.
2. **Self-contained + APA 7th.** Titles, notes, axis labels, Ns, and units make each exhibit
   intelligible alone; follow APA table/figure formatting.
3. **Embedded placement.** Place tables and figures **within the text near their first discussion**,
   per the journal's instruction (an exception to the APA end-placement default).
4. **Earn the space.** The tight format means every exhibit must add evidence; push secondary exhibits
   (full models, manipulation checks, extra studies) to the **supplemental online material**.
5. **Reproducible + accessible.** Generated by the shared analysis script so values match; colorblind-
   safe and grayscale-legible.

## Worked micro-example — the main results figure (illustrative)

For the two-study attention package, the primary figure must carry the argument the prose cannot.

```
Figure 1. Attentional-capture cost by condition, Studies 1–2.
  Geometry:  per-participant points + group mean + 95% CI (dot/interval
             or violin), NOT a bar of means.
  Panels:    Study 1 (N = 240) | Study 2 (N = 300, direct replication).
  Annotation: d = 0.34, 95% CI [0.08, 0.59] (S1); d = 0.29 [0.06, 0.51] (S2).
  Note:      defines the capture-cost metric, Ns, exclusion count, and that
             intervals are 95% CIs — readable without the main text.
  Placement: embedded at first discussion (APA 7th override of end-placement).
  Source:    rendered by the deposited R script so values match exactly.
```

## Exhibit triage — article vs. supplemental online material

| Exhibit | Home | Reason |
|---------|------|--------|
| Primary effect with CI across studies | main text | this is the contribution |
| Full regression / model table | supplement | costs words, secondary to the estimate |
| Manipulation / attention-check results | supplement | needed for credibility, not the headline |
| Robustness / specification grid | supplement | summarized in one main-text sentence |
| Extra studies beyond the core two | supplement | keep the article focused |

## Exhibit-stage reviewer pushback and the venue fix

- "Bar chart hides the spread" → switch to dot/violin + 95% CI; show individual data where N allows.
- "I can't read the figure without the text" → make the note self-contained (metric, Ns, what the
  error bars are).
- "Table reports only stars" → add effect-size and CI columns; this is a post-reform expectation here.
- "Figure values don't match Table 2" → regenerate both from the single deposited script.

## Exhibit calibration anchors

- Because the prose budget is so tight, the figure is often where magnitude and uncertainty actually
  live; design it to stand alone if a hurried editor reads only the exhibits.
- Show the data generating process where feasible: raw points behind the mean, paired lines for
  within-subject designs, and the interval that the claim depends on — not a decorative error bar.
- Embedding near first discussion is an explicit instruction here and a frequent reason manuscripts are
  returned; verify the current placement rule against the journal's submission guidelines, but never
  default to APA end-of-document placement.
- Accessibility is part of credibility: colorblind-safe palettes and grayscale-legible encodings so the
  evidence survives printing and reuse.

## Anti-patterns

- Bar plots of means that hide the distribution and uncertainty
- Exhibits requiring the prose to be intelligible (not self-contained)
- Tables/figures dumped at the end rather than embedded near discussion
- Reporting only stars/p-values in tables with no effect size or CI
- Exhibit values that don't match the shared analysis script

## Output format

```
【Main exhibit】what it shows + why a figure/table
【Shows distribution + uncertainty?】(CIs / individual data) [Y/N]
【APA 7th + self-contained + embedded near text?】[Y/N]
【Article vs supplement】split decided
【Reproducible + accessible?】matches script, grayscale/colorblind-safe? [Y/N]
【Next】psci-writing-style
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — plotting tools and `papaja` for APA exhibits
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — APA 7th style and embedded-exhibit instruction