Jennifer Joy Freyd (/fraɪd/; born October 16, 1957, in Providence, Rhode Island[citation needed]) is an American psychologist, researcher, author, educator, and speaker.

Freyd is the Founder and President of the Center for Institutional Courage,[1][2] Professor Emerit[3][4] of Psychology at the University of Oregon, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Medicine,[5] Faculty Fellow at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research,[6] Affiliated Faculty, Women's Leadership Lab, Stanford University.

[7] Freyd was a Member of the Advisory Committee, 2019–2023, for the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

[10][11] Early in her career, Freyd was a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow and she received a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award.

[23][24] Freyd's initial empirical discovery of representational momentum[25][26] and shareability led to her further explore the relationship between trauma memories and the element of betrayal.

[33] In a September 2019 article in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, Freyd and Smidt[34] emphasize the value of education for organizations that are taking steps toward institutional courage.

The authors make a distinction between training (which connotes "compliance and a rules-based process") and education, which "is associated with complex understanding, critical thinking, and the acquisition of knowledge based on empirical research and theory development".

[38][39] In June 2017, Freyd was invited again to speak at a meeting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where she presented on institutional betrayal and sexual harassment in academia.

[43] For example, in an interview with Diane Sawyer in 2017, actress and political activist Ashley Judd referenced DARVO when discussing the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations.

[45] Freyd asserted that since institutions can perpetrate abuse by (1) ignoring survivors' wishes about how their private information is shared when they decide to disclose, and (2) by emphasizing that survivors' information will be passed along without their consent, she proposed that faculty educate colleagues and students about Title IX, sexual violence, and institutional betrayal, as well as provide resources for disrupting a culture of sexual violence and learning how to be a good listener.

[49] Dozens of scientists have criticized the AAU's proposed campus climate survey, with Freyd as a key player in the scientific debate.