Jean Matter Mandler (born November 1929) is Distinguished Research Professor of

Cognitive Science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

and visiting professor at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. She was born in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

and attended

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

before transferring to

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

, where she graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in 1951. She received her Ph.D. in psychology at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1956. After a series of research positions – common for women in the 1950–1960s – at Harvard, the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, and at UCSD, she became an associate professor at UCSD in 1973 and professor in 1977; she retired as a research professor in 2000. In 1986 she was one of the founding members of the Department of Cognitive Science.

Research

Mandler's early research was on animal learning and in the 1960s she worked on

textual analysis Content analysis is the study of documents and communication artifacts, known as texts e.g. photos, speeches or essays. Social scientists use content analysis to examine patterns in communication in a replicable and systematic manner. One of the ...

, including the development of a widely used story grammar. Starting in the 1970s she turned to developmental problems with special emphasis on early conceptual development which culminated in her influential book on the foundations of mind. In 2006 the book received the " Eleanor Maccoby Outstanding Book Award" from the Division of Developmental Psychology, APA, and in 2007 the "Best Authored Book Award" from the Cognitive Development Society. In 2007 she was also given the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

's "Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award". Mandler is a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

and of the

Society of Experimental Psychologists The Society of Experimental Psychologists (SEP), originally called the Society of Experimentalists, is an academic society for experimental psychologists. It was founded by Edward Bradford Titchener in 1904 to be an ongoing workshop in which mem ...

. She has been active on the editorial board of several developmental journals.

Personal

In 1957, Jean Matter married

George Mandler George Mandler (June 11, 1924 – May 6, 2016) was an Austrian-born American psychologist, who became a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, San Diego. Career Mandler was born in Vienna on June 11, 1924, the ...

, one of her

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

professors. The couple later had two sons, Peter Mandler (Professor of Modern Cultural History at the University of Cambridge) and Michael Mandler (Professor of Economics at Royal Holloway College, University of London, UK). George Mandler died in 2016.Obituary for George Mandler
psychologicalscience.org. Accessed 27 March 2024.

Books by Jean Mandler

* Mandler, J. M., & Mandler, G. (1964). Thinking: From Association to Gestalt. New York: Wiley. * Mandler, J. M. (1984). Stories, scripts, and scenes: Aspects of schema theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. * Mandler, J. M. (2004). The foundations of mind: The origins of conceptual thought. New York: Oxford University Press.

References

Sources

* Carey, S. (2000) The origin of concepts. Journal of Cognition and Development, 1, 37–41. * Stein, N. L., Bauer, P. and Rabinowitz, M. (2002) Representation, memory and development: Essays in honor of Jean Mandler. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. * Reznick, J.S. & Bauer, P. J. Constructing a Mind, One Image Schema at a Time. Journal of Cognition and Development, 9, 253–255.

External links

Jean Mandler's home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandler, Jean University of California, San Diego faculty American women psychologists University of California, San Diego alumni Scientists from Oak Park, Illinois Carleton College alumni Swarthmore College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 1929 births Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Fellows of the Cognitive Science Society 20th-century American women academics 20th-century American academics 20th-century American psychologists APA Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology recipients