Richard E. Mayer (born 1947) is an American educational psychologist and Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) where he has served since 1975.

He received a PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan (1973), and served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Indiana University (1973–1975).

Mayer has made significant contributions to theories of cognition and learning, especially as they relate to problem solving and the design of educational multimedia.

His best known contribution to the field of educational psychology is multimedia learning theory, which posits that optimal learning occurs when visual and verbal materials are presented together simultaneously.

[1] Mayer is the author of more than 390 publications including 23 books on education and multimedia.