J. Bruner

Theory- Social Interactionist theory

“The outcome of cognitive development is thinking. The intelligent mind creates from experience generic coding systems that permit one to go beyond the data to formulate new and possibly fruitful predictions.” - Bruner 1957

Bruner theorised that language is used to mediate between emotional stimuli and a persons response.

In his research on the cognitive development of children (1966), Jerome Bruner proposed three modes of representation:

Modes of representation are the ways (or format) in which the child manipulates information.

There are three modes of representation to Bruner's theory these are: Enactive, Iconic and Symbolic.

Beliefs

Bruner believes that a child‟s cognitive structures mature with age as a

result of this the child can think and organise material in increasingly

complex ways.

Children are also seen as naturally inquisitive, thirsty for knowledge and

understanding. The child naturally adapts to its environment and abstract

thinking develops through action.

Bruner believes the child has to learn for itself by making sense of its own

environment.

He also believes the world we experience is a product of our mind- what

we perceive and think of as our World is constructed through our mind as a

product of symbolic processes.

Enactive (action-based)(0-1 Years)

This appears first. It involves witnessing action based information and storing

it in our memory. For example, in the form of movement.

E.G: An infant will shake a rattle, as if the movements themselves are

expected to produce the accustomed sound. And this is not just limited to

children.

Many adults can perform a variety of motor tasks (typing, sewing a shirt,

operating a lawn mower) that they would find difficult to describe in iconic

(picture) or symbolic (word) form.

Iconic (image-based)(1-6 Years)

This is where information is stored in the mind visually in the form of images.

For some, this is conscious; others say they don‟t experience it.

This may explain why, when people are learning a new subject, it is often

helpful to have diagrams or illustrations to accompany any verbal

information.

Symbolic (language-based)(7+ Years)

This develops last. This is where information is stored in the form of a code or

symbol, such as language. This is the most adaptable form of

representation, for actions & images have a fixed relation to that which

they represent. Dog is a symbolic representation of a single class.

Symbols are flexible in that they can be manipulated, ordered, classified

etc. So the user isn‟t constrained by actions or images. In the symbolic

stage, knowledge is stored primarily as words, mathematical symbols, or in

other symbol systems.

Support of the theoryBruner and Kenney (1966):

Aims- To find out what age children start to use symbolic mode of representation.

Method- children aged 3-7 shown a board divided into 9 squares. On each square was a

plastic beaker. Beakers of different sizes & widths, tallest at back & widest on left, each child

had to look at the beakers. There was a reproduction test were the beakers were mixed up

and the child was asked to put them back how they were. Transposition test removed

beakers and asked them to put them back in a mirror image of the original arrangement.

Results-

Most 5 year olds correctly completed the reproduction test however few under 7 could

complete the transposition task, most over 7 could complete both tasks. The reproduction

task was designed to use iconic representation, as the child forms a mental picture and

copies it however the transposition task could not be done as it doesn‟t look like original

arrangement.

Reproduction task Transposition task

Age 5 60% 0%

Age 6 70% 27%

Age 7 80% 80%

Support of the theory

Bruner and Kenney (1966):

Conclusion- The study supports the view that children on average begin to

acquire the symbolic mode at around 6 or 7 years of age. The task required

the ability to mentally transform the visual information and was dependent

on statements such as „it gets fatter going one way and taller going in

another‟ etc. The children were using language (symbolic mode) to guide

their thinking.

Support of the modes:

Frank (reported by Bruner 1964):

Participants- Frank selected a group of 4 to 6 year olds

Method-

1) They are shown the two measuring cylinders with equal amounts of water and the

empty beaker.

2)A screen is placed in front of the apparatus and a line drawn on the screen

indicating the water level in the two taller cylinders.

3)Water is poured from one of the cylinders into the beaker (all is still hidden behind

the screen)

4)The child is now asked „which has more to drink or are they both the same?‟

Results of test 1:

Results of unscreened test Results of screened test

4 year olds 0% 50%

5 year olds 20% 90%

6 year olds 50% 100%

Support of the modes:

Method continued-

5) The screen is then removed and the child is again asked about which has the

most water, the tall thin cylinder or the smaller but wider beaker.

Results of test 2:

4 year olds revert back to their original (incorrect answer) that the tall cylinder has

more water. 5 and 6 year olds generally stick to the correct answer given when the

beakers were hidden.

Findings explained/conclusion:

By screening the procedure Frank was preventing iconic mode and by asking them

to describe what was happening was encouraging their symbolic mode. This more

advanced mode of thinking was capable of conservation whereas the lower, iconic

was not.

Criticisms

Some writers, including Noam Chomsky, reject this model. They say language is an

innate capacity of the mind, so general exposure will evoke the proper responses

and learning techniques. In other words, the innate desire and ability of a child to

learn language will develop on its own as long as the child gets plenty of basically

comprehensible input. Growth of language ability, according to this approach, is

dependent upon familiar words and phrases being mixed with unfamiliar terms.

Chomsky believes there is an innate device that is a part of the mental makeup of

all human beings that permits--over time--the automatic decoding of speech.