Eleanor J. Gibson
Her influence on psychology:
- Principles of perceptual learning and development (book)
- Century Psychology prize
- The Psychology of Reading (book)
- She will remain a key theorist in learning and development due to her work in studying perception.
Learning to Perceive or Perceiving to Learn?
Your Turn
Partner up and discuss a time when your perception changed because of experience.
"we do not perceive stimuli or retinal images or sensations or even just things; what we perceive are things that we can eat, or write with, or sit down on, or talk to. We don’t only perceive the size or distance of objects. We perceive whether something is within arms’ reach and whether it will fit into our grasp. What we perceive are the functional relations between self and world."
We know Eleanor J. Gibson from her work on the visual cliff. While this study was invaluable for understanding perception, this was only the beginning of Eleanor's study of the subject.
What is perceptual learning?
: the process by which the ability of sensory systems to respond to stimuli is improved through experience
References
This shows us how we can progress in our understanding of a subject or area of life.
- Eleanor's husband also worked in the field of psychology yet she made her own career and did not depend on his success.
- She was awarded the national medal of science
- Her theories led to a new understanding of perceptual development in human infants and children and of basic processes in reading
- Gibson's Theory of Perceptual Learning. (n.d.).
- "Gibson, Eleanor Jack." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. . Retrieved October 12, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com:
Why perceptual learning is important:
Why Eleanor stands out in psychology: