Jerome S. Bruner (1915-2016)

Abstract

Presents an obituary for Jerome S. Bruner, who died in 2016. His long, and productive, life spanned much of the first century of experimental psychology and coincided with the launching of cognitive psychology, a field in which he played an indispensable and pioneering role. His innovative and provocative work constantly challenged the current "mainstream." His impact on education has been equated with that of John Dewey. He was driven throughout his life to pursue the nature of the "human" in both his conceptual and empirical work. The model of an active organizing mind, "going beyond the information given," informed Jerry's work on cognition and led to the influential 1956 book A Study of Thinking, with Jacqueline Goodnow and George Austin. In 1960, Bruner and George Miller established the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard, which became a crucible for dynamic innovation across several disciplines and research approaches (PsycINFO Database Record