Jared Branch, Ph.D.

Research Interests

My research focuses on learning and memory.

Regarding learning, I am interested in large-scale replications and the learning outcomes, such as improved critical and analytical thinking, associated with student involvement in these replication efforts. Our lab therefore seeks not only to be involved in large-scale replication efforts but also to measure the outcomes associated with student involvement in these efforts.

Regarding memory, I am interested in how remembering the past, imagining the future, and remembering the past and imagining how it could have been different (i.e., a counterfactual thought) are related to each other. Current efforts involve the development and validation of a scale measuring the frequency and direction of (i.e., imagined better or imagined worse) counterfactual thinking in daily life.

Opportunities for Students

If you are a motivated undergraduate student interested in joining the lab, please complete the lab application.

I do not supervise graduate students.

Education

B.A., University of Utah (2008)
Ph.D. Bowling Green State University (2020)

Selected Publications

For a full list of publications, see my Google Scholar

Branch, J. G. (2023). Individual differences in the frequency of voluntary & involuntary episodic memories, future thoughts, and counterfactual thoughts. Psychological Research, 87(7), 2171-2182.

Branch, J. G., & Zickar, M. J. (2021). Mental time travel into the episodic future, episodic past, and episodic counterfactual past in everyday life. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35(1), 293-299.