Jerome Bruner

Jerome Seymour Bruner (born October 1, 1915, New York City – died June 5, 2016, Manhattan, New York) was an American psychologist who made significant contributions to human cognitive psychology and cognitive learning theory in educational psychology. Bruner was a senior research fellow at the New York University School of Law. He received a BA in 1937 from Duke University and a PhD from Harvard University in 1941. He taught and conducted research at Harvard University, the University of Oxford, and New York University. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Bruner as the 28th most cited psychologist of the 20th century. Bruner is considered one of the pioneers of cognitive psychology in the United States. His early research on sensation and perception highlighted these as active processes. In 1947, his study 'Value and Need as Organizing Factors in Perception' showed how children's perceptions were influenced by their socioeconomic background. Along with Leo Postman, his experiments with playing cards demonstrated that perception is not merely a passive reception of stimuli but is influenced by internal factors. These experiments contributed to the 'New Look' psychology. In 1956, Bruner published 'A Study of Thinking,' which formally initiated the study of cognitive psychology and led to the founding of the Harvard Center of Cognitive Studies. Later, he challenged the computer model of the mind, advocating for a more holistic understanding of cognitive processes in his book 'Acts of Meaning.' In developmental psychology, beginning around 1967, Bruner introduced the concept of 'scaffolding,' describing how instructors support learners. He proposed that children represent tasks in three ways: enactive, iconic, and symbolic representation. He argued that learners can grasp any material if it's organized appropriately, contrasting with stage theorists like Piaget. Bruner's 'spiral curriculum' suggests revisiting subjects at increasing levels of sophistication. In educational psychology, he advocated for education focused on understanding concepts rather than rote memorization, as seen in his book 'The Process of Education' (1961). He was also instrumental in the Head Start program. His later work, particularly in developmental psychology, focused on language development, proposing an interactionist/social interactionist theory that emphasized the role of social interaction, drawing on Vygotsky's ideas. He rejected Noam Chomsky's nativist view of language acquisition. At Oxford, he studied how children learn language through interaction and a 'language acquisition support system' (LASS). His work on the narrative construction of reality, detailed in 'Acts of Meaning' and 'Actual Minds, Possible Worlds,' distinguished between paradigmatic (scientific) and narrative (everyday) thinking. In his later career at NYU School of Law, he explored the psychological factors influencing legal practice.