Dedre Gentner

Dedre Gentner

Dedre Gentner, the Twight Professor of Psychology and Education at Northwestern University, is a leading researcher in cognition and learning. Her structure-mapping theory of analogical processing has been highly influential in research on analogy and on learning and transfer. The theory has been successfully applied in a broad range of arenas, from children’s learning to scientific discovery. Much of her current work explores the use of structure-mapping processes in spatial learning and cognition.

Professional Preparation
1962-1967 University of California, Berkeley B.A., Physics
1967-1968 University of Chicago Social Sciences
1970-1974 University of California, San Diego Ph.D., Psychology

Appointments
2007-present Alice Gabrielle Twight Professor of Psychology and Education, Northwestern University
1990-present Professor of Psychology, Professor of Education; Director, Cognitive Science Program, Northwestern University
2006 Fellow, Rockefeller Institute, Bellagio, Italy
1999-2000 Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford
1989-1990 Professor of Psychology, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
1984-1989 Assoc. Prof. of Psychology, Univ. of IL at Urbana-Champaign.
1977-1982 Scientist, Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc.
1974-1977 Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Washington.
1968-1970 Teacher, Achimota Preparatory School, Achimota, Ghana.

Publications
Over 100 journal articles and chapters, including

[1] Gentner, D., Levine, S., Dhillon, S., Poltermann, A. (in press). Using structural alignment to facilitate learning of spatial concepts in an informal setting. Paper to be presented at the 2nd International Analogy Conference. Sofia, Bulgaria.
[2] Gentner, D., Loewenstein, J., Thompson, L., & Forbus, K. (in press). Reviving inert knowledge: Analogical encoding supports relational retrieval of past events. Cognitive Science.
[3] Day, S. & Gentner, D. (2007). Nonintentional analogical inference in text comprehension. Memory and Cognition, 35, 39-49.
[4] Gentner, D., Loewenstein, J., & Hung, B. (2006). Comparison facilitates children’s learning of names for parts. Journal of Cognition and Development, 7(2).
[5] Bowdle, B., & Gentner, D. (2005). The career of metaphor. Psychological Review, 112, 193-216.
[6] Gentner, D. (2003). Why we’re so smart. In D. Gentner and S. Goldin-Meadow (Eds.), Language in mind: Advances in the study of language and cognition (pp. 195-235). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
[7] Gentner, D., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (Eds.) (2003). Language in mind: Advances in the study of language and thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
[8] Gentner, D., Loewenstein, J., & Thompson, L. (2003). Learning and transfer: A general role for analogical encoding. Journal of Educational Psychology 95 (2), 393-408.
[9] Gentner, D., Holyoak, K. J., & Kokinov, B. N. (Eds.). (2001). The analogical mind: Perspectives from cognitive science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
[10] Gentner, D., & Medina, J. (1998). Similarity and the development of rules. Cognition, 65, 263-297.
[11] Gentner, D., & Markman, A. B. (1997). Structure mapping in analogy and similarity. American Psychologist, 52, 45-56.
[12] Gentner, D. (1983). Structure-mapping: A theoretical framework for analogy. Cognitive Science, 7, 155-170.