James J. Jenkins (July 29, 1923 – November 17, 2012[1]) is an American psychologist who played a significant role in the development of cognitive psychology.

[2] Trained as an industrial psychologist, his early career was shaped by his Fellowship at the Social Science Research Council’s 1953 summer meeting that established the discipline of psycholinguistics.

[2][4][5] He continued research on language and cognition, eventually focusing on topics concerning speech perception (in collaboration with his wife, Winifred Strange).

After serving as a weatherman in the Army Air Forces in the U.S and the South Pacific, he returned to William Jewell College to earn an A.B.

His academic honors include the previously mentioned Fellowships at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and the Social Science Research Council Fellowship at the seminal 1953 Social Science Research Council Summer Institute in Psycholinguistics, as well as an SSRC Faculty Fellowship, a Ford Foundation Faculty Grant, a Citation for Achievement from William Jewell College (1968), a Phi Kappa Phi (University of South Florida Chapter) Artist/Scholar Award (1985), a Sigma Xi (USF Chapter) Outstanding Research Award (1987), and an Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota (2001).