WORK
A Study of Thinking
Bruner's 1956 collaboration with Jacqueline Goodnow and George Austin — the systematic investigation of concept formation that established Bruner's reputation, launched the cognitive revolution alongside Miller's work, and bore (in its 1986 reissue) an explicit commentary on the emerging field of artificial intelligence.
A Study of Thinking (Wiley, 1956) was Bruner's landmark investigation of how human beings form and test concepts — how they develop strategies for categorizing experience that allow them to navigate a world of overwhelming complexity. Co-authored with Jacqueline Goodnow and George Austin, the book established concept formation as a legitimate object of scientific study and produced empirical findings that shaped the cognitive revolution. Its opening line set the agenda: 'We begin with what seems a paradox. The world of experience of any normal man is composed of a tremendous array of discriminably different objects, events, people, impressions.' The paradox is that despite this overwhelming array, people navigate the world efficiently, because they categorize. The strategies they use are systematic, testable, and shaped by cognitive constraints. J. Robert Oppenheimer, reviewing the book, said it 'has in many ways the flavor of conviction which makes it point to the future.'
