Bruner’s Theory of Cognitive Development: 3 Stages – Enactive, Iconic, and Symbolic

Cognitive Development is a process of changes in human mental and intellectual capabilities.

Who is Jerome Seymour Bruner?

Jerome Bruner (October 1, 1915 – June 5, 2016) was an American psychologist and educator who developed theories on cognition that include learning theory, perception theory, Memory, and some other aspects of children’s cognition.

Bruner studied at Duke University, North Carolina in 193 where he pursued his bachelor’s degree, and then at Harvard University, where he received a doctorate in psychology in 1941. In between the time period of 1941 to 1945 he worked with the US Army during World War 2 as a social psychologist. After that, he returned to Harvard University and became a professor of psychology (1945 to 1952). In 1952 he left Harvard University for his experimental research in the study of perception. It challenged the widely held belief that human psychological processes start with raw sensory data, demonstrating that even the most fundamental perceptual judgments are shaped by higher-level beliefs and values.

In 1956, he released the groundbreaking book – A Study of Thinking, which was considered heretical at the time and is often regarded as the foundational work of cognitive psychology. In 1960 Jerome Bruner and George Miller  the Center for Cognitive Studies. In this time frame, briner’s research started focusing on human infants’ perceptual and conceptual world after this Bruner is famous for the revolution in infant studies that followed in the 1970s and 80s.

Bruner played a pivotal role in transforming American education. His works, The Process of Education (1960) and Toward a Theory of Instruction (1966), laid the foundation for progressive education in the U.S. He argued that children learn most effectively when driven by their own interests, supported by more knowledgeable adults. Bruner highlighted that young children learn best through hands-on experiences, progressing later to symbols and language. This led to his concept of a “spiral curriculum,” where children are introduced to any topic early on, with each topic revisited in more age-appropriate ways as they grow older.

In 1975, he published two highly influential theoretical papers—”From Communication to Language” in the newly launched Cognition Journal and “The Ontogenesis of Speech Acts” in the Journal of Child Language. In these works, he aimed to shift the focus of language acquisition research from Jean Piaget Classified Cognitive Development Theory – Four StagesChomsky’s syntax-driven approach to the pragmatics of human communication. His 1983 book, Child’s Talk: Learning to Use Language, summarized his research and theories on the subject, offering a conceptual framework that greatly influenced later studies on child language acquisition.

Bruner’s work was encapsulated in two of his most influential books, Actual Minds, Possible Worlds (1985) and Acts of Meaning (1990), both cited over 10,000 times. In his later years, Bruner increasingly focused on applying social science research to real-world contexts. {The Information about Jerome Seymour Bruner is gathered from several sources i.e.  Bruner’s Wikipedia, In Memoriam: Brunner}

Jerome Bruner believed that children build knowledge and understanding through active engagement with the world around them.

Bruner is a process theorist who held that children have a highly action-oriented form of intelligence and they know things by perceiving them and are consequently strongly influenced by the vivid perceptual characteristics of objects and events.

Pattern of Cognitive Growth

According to Bruner, cognitive growth has several distinct characteristics. They are:

1. Cognitive development is characterized by increasing independence of a response from a stimulus.
2. Intellectual growth depends on a child’s mental representation of the world.
3. Intellectual development involves an increasing capacity for symbolic activity.
4. Intellectual development depends upon systematic interaction with members of society.
5. Mental development is characterized by increasing mastery of language.
6. Intellectual development is marked by an increasing ability to perform concurrent activities and to allocate attention sequentially to various situations.

Jean Piaget believes that children learn in stages and cognitive development is not a continuous process. Piaget also talked about the readiness of the child where the child must be ready to learn or made ready to learn in the foremation of learning whereas Bruner is just the opposite of Piaget. According to Bruner’s theory, the core concepts of any subject can be taught to children at any age, as long as the material is adapted to a form that aligns with their developmental stage.

Jerome Bruner proposed the theory of cognitive development that can be viewed as an alternative to the cognitive development theory of Jean Piaget. He believed that children learn through signals or indications and outlined three stages in his theory: The Enactive, Iconic, and Symbolic Stage.

1. Enactive Stage: In this stage, children acquire knowledge through their senses, such as touching or biting their toys. They strive to understand their environment through actions and operations.
   For example, a 3-month-old baby receives a monkey toy. The baby touches it, rubs it, bends it, or even tries to eat it to comprehend what the object is. Whenever the baby bites an edible item, they learn about its taste and smell.
   At an early age, all children exhibit curiosity by eating, shaking, rubbing, and throwing whatever they can grasp. In this stage, language and mental images hold little importance because language and memory have not yet developed.
   
2. Iconic Stage: In this stage, children begin to form mental images. They are attracted to sparks, sounds, movements, and variations in their surroundings.
   For instance, a child may look around for the sound of clapping made by an older sibling. They observe their toy car moving forward and backward and shake a toy to listen to its “tik tik” sound, which they find delightful and continue to do.
   This iconic stage is similar to the preoperational stage described by Jean Piaget. Children’s visual memory develops during this stage as they can remember which toy produces sound and which family members visit them frequently.
3. Symbolic Stage: In this stage, children’s signal or symbol systems replace their functional and visual understanding of the world. Children begin to learn and use mathematics, symbols, logic, and language to communicate and comprehend their surroundings. Symbols provide a concise way to understand and manipulate different objects. Complex experiences and knowledge can be expressed through simple statements, rules, or formulas. Symbols make it easier to remember and apply knowledge.
   For example, children learn mathematical rules related to currency through symbols and remember them by applying them in real-life situations. Through language, they can also communicate their thoughts and desires effectively.

Bruner vs. Piaget

1. Bruner believed that cognitive ability is developed through gradual changes in stages, based on how the mind is utilized by children. In contrast, Piaget believed in fixed stages and argued that anything difficult or advanced cannot be taught at an unmatched stage.
2. Unlike Piaget, Bruner asserted that anything can be taught at any stage, as there are no fixed stages, and that intellectual thinking develops in a spiral form.
3. He also criticized Piaget for unnecessarily dividing the stages by specific ages, arguing that a child of a different age can perform tasks at various advanced levels defined by Piaget. Bruner believed that concepts can be taught in a spiral form at any age. For example, in the 5th grade, we can teach students about plants around them; in the 6th grade, we can introduce them to herbs, shrubs, and trees; and in the 7th grade, we can provide scientific knowledge about trees. Similarly, in early education, we teach counting, then addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, followed by other concepts. These topics are not age-related but concept-related and can be taught in a spiral manner.
4. Bruner also criticized Piaget for not acknowledging the importance of society and environment in children’s cognitive development, emphasizing that the social environment is a crucial factor in this process. He believed that the environment provides opportunities for children to learn and develop their minds more easily.
5. While Piaget maintained that children develop through stages, Bruner contended that children learn through different modes at varying ages, which he discussed in his own theory.
6. Piaget did not give importance to the language a child learns; on the other hand, Bruner emphasized language development in his theory by introducing the third stage of symbolic representation, where children learn symbols, language, mathematics, etc.

Despite their differences, both theorists believed that children possess an innate ability for active learning, which they use to enhance their cognitive abilities.

Several factors can influence children’s cognitive development:

1. Heredity: A child’s cognitive development is influenced by their genetic inheritance. Children cannot develop beyond the potential established by their heredity.
2. Family Environment: A healthy and secure family environment is crucial for children’s cognitive development. Supportive and nurturing surroundings foster growth and learning.
3. Socioeconomic Background: A family’s social and economic background provides opportunities and resources that can significantly impact a child’s cognitive development. Access to educational materials and experiences is often linked to socioeconomic status.
4. Health: Good health plays a vital role in accelerating children’s mental development. Physical well-being supports cognitive functioning and learning.
5. Education of the Child: Proper education is essential for effective cognitive development. A structured learning environment helps children acquire knowledge and skills necessary for their growth.
6. School: Schools provide children with opportunities to develop their thinking skills and facilitate their learning. Conversely, a poor school environment can negatively affect a child’s cognitive development.
7. Society: A society that offers children the chance to explore their environment contributes positively to their cognitive development. Opportunities for exploration and engagement are essential for fostering growth.

Bruner’s scaffolding theory

Bruner’s scaffolding theory is based on Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory. Bruner also believed that the environment and society play an important role in a child’s cognitive development. This environment provides opportunities for the child to interact with others and explore their surroundings. Learning will only take place if the child actively participates in it and interacts with adults and peers. Thus, he introduced the concept of scaffolding.

Scaffolding refers to the external support that a child receives from adults or from individuals who possess more knowledge than they do. When a child encounters a problem, they often need a little help or a hint to overcome it. The adult or knowledgeable person provides cues that enable the child to solve the problem independently. Scaffolding is meant to be assistance, not providing the entire answer. All that is required is to give hints or cues to the child, facilitating their ability to solve the problem on their own.

For example, when a child struggles with a math problem, you might offer a hint about what the question is asking or break the question into smaller parts so they can better understand it and find a solution.

Spiral curriculum

Bruner emphasized a spiral curriculum, in which the syllabus is divided in an easy-to-complex manner. Topics are organized so that students first learn simpler concepts according to their abilities, gradually progressing to more challenging material.

Today’s curricula are often developed in a spiral form, highlighting the importance of Bruner’s theory.