Charles Jon Brainerd (born 1944) is an American psychologist and professor in the College of Human Ecology at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. He is known for developing

fuzzy-trace theory Fuzzy-trace theory (FTT) is a theory of cognition originally proposed by Valerie F. Reyna and Charles Brainerd to explain cognitive phenomena, particularly in memory and reasoning. FTT posits two types of memory processes (verbatim and gist) and, ...

with his wife and colleague, Valerie F. Reyna. He serves as

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the

peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...

'' Developmental Review''.

Education and career

Brainerd was educated at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. His first academic appointment was as an assistant professor at the

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

from 1970 to 1971. He served on the faculty of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

from 1971, initially as an assistant professor, before being promoted to associate professor there in 1973. 1976 to 1983, he was a professor at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. In 1983, he returned to the University of Alberta to become the Henry Marshall Tory Professor and Director Center for Research in Child Development there. He was a professor of

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, behavioral perspectives, allows researc ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

from 1987 to 1997, and taught Special Education, Rehabilitation, and School Psychology there from 1997 to 2004. After a one-year stint teaching psychology at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, he joined the human development faculty of Cornell in 2005.

Honors and awards

Brainerd is a member of the

National Academy of Education The National Academy of Education (NAEd) is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization in the United States that advances high-quality research to improve education policy and practice. Founded in 1965, the NAEd currently consists of over 300 elect ...

, as well as a Fellow of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

's Division of General Psychology, Division of Experimental Psychology, Division of Developmental Psychology, and Division of Educational Psychology. He is also a Fellow of the

American Psychological Society The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in r ...

and the

Psychonomic Society The Psychonomic Society is an international scientific society of over 4,500 scientists in the field of experimental psychology. The mission of the Psychonomic Society is to foster the science of cognition through the advancement and communicatio ...

. He has received the Spirit of Excellence Award from the

Governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Personal life

Brainerd's daughter, Tereasa Brainerd, is an astronomer.

References

External links

Faculty page
* {{US-psychologist-stub 1944 births Living people American academic journal editors Cornell University faculty Michigan State University alumni Academic staff of University of Windsor Academic staff of the University of Alberta Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario University of Arizona faculty University of Texas at Austin faculty Fellows of the Association for Psychological Science American developmental psychologists