Jerome Bruner
American psychologist of perception, thinking and education
American psychologist who worked at Harvard, Oxford and New York University. He studied how needs and expectations shape perception, published A Study of Thinking in 1956, and is credited with the educational term scaffolding.
Why this person matters
Bruner linked perception, thinking and education. His studies with Leo Postman and others fed the New Look in perception, A Study of Thinking (1956) belongs to the early cognitive turn, and scaffolding is now a standard term in teaching and development. He co-founded Harvard's Center for Cognitive Studies with George A. Miller.
Main contributions
New Look perception studies
In papers of 1947 and 1949, Bruner and Leo Postman reported slower and less accurate responses to playing cards with reversed suit colours. With Cecile Goodman (1947) he reported that children overestimated the size of coins compared with discs of equal size.
A Study of Thinking
Published in 1956, the book is described as formally starting the study of cognitive psychology. Bruner then co-founded and directed the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard with George A. Miller.
Scaffolding
Bruner is credited with coining the term for guided help that is reduced as the learner progresses. Wood, Bruner and Ross published The role of tutoring in problem solving in 1976.
Context and limits
Bruner's work was collaborative and spans several decades, so no single study defines it. His spiral curriculum drew criticism from conservatives. The sources read for this profile give no account of empirical criticism, so later revisions of the New Look experiments are not assessed here.
In your introductory course
Thinking, language and intelligence.Appears in chapters on perception (expectation effects), thinking and education. Scaffolding is taught in development and educational psychology.
Related course reading: Psychology 2e, section 7.1. This is course context rather than a biographical source.
Years of active work
- 1947
Published work with Leo Postman and with Cecile Goodman on the effects of tension, value and need on perception.
- 1956
Published A Study of Thinking.
- 1960
Co-founded the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard.
- 1976
Published the Wood, Bruner and Ross paper on tutoring in problem solving.
- 1990
Published Acts of Meaning, based on lectures given that year.
Sources
- New York University School of Law, In Memoriam: Jerome Bruner, 1915-2016University. Institutional biography inspected.
- Duke University Psychology and Neuroscience, Jerome S. Bruner, 1915-2016University. Institutional biography inspected.
- Bangor Daily News, Pioneer of cognitive psychology dies at 92 (Center for Cognitive Studies founded by Miller and Bruner)Reference work. Reference article inspected.
- Wikipedia, Jerome BrunerReference work. Reference article inspected.