Linda B. Smith

Linda Smith
Occupation(s)Distinguished Professor and Chancellor's Professor of Psychological and Brain Science, and of Cognitive Science
Awards
  • Rumelhart Prize (2013)
  • APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions (2013)
  • Norman Anderson Lifetime Achievement Award - Society of Experimental Psychologists (2019)
  • Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences (2019)
Academic background
EducationPh.D. in Psychology
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Academic work
Sub-disciplineDevelopmental Psychology, Cognitive Science
InstitutionsIndiana University

Linda B. Smith (born 1951[1]) is an American developmental psychologist internationally recognized for her theoretical and empirical contributions to developmental psychology and cognitive science, proposing, through theoretical and empirical studies, a new way of understanding developmental processes.[2] Smith's works are groundbreaking and illuminating for the field of perception, action, language, and categorization, showing the unique flexibility found in human behavior.[3] She has shown how perception and action are ways of obtaining knowledge for cognitive development and word learning.[4]

With Esther Thelen, she co-authored the books A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action[5] and A Dynamic Systems Approach to Development: Applications,[6] which approach child development from a dynamic systems perspective, including problems of continuity and discontinuities and nonlinear outcomes.

Smith is a Distinguished Professor and Chancellor's Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University.[7]

  1. ^ Members of the American Academy Listed by election year, 2000-2019, see page 13
  2. ^ "Linda Smith, PhD". FABBS. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  3. ^ "Linda B. Smith: Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions". American Psychologist. 68 (8): 616–617. 2013. doi:10.1037/a0034774. ISSN 1935-990X.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Samuelson-2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Thelen, Esther; Smith, Linda B. (2002). A dynamic systems approach to the development of cognition and action. MIT Press/Bradford Books series in cognitive psychology (5. print ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-70059-7.
  6. ^ Smith, Linda B.; Thelen, Esther, eds. (1993). A dynamic systems approach to development: applications. MIT press/ Bradford books series in cognitive psychology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-19333-7.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Faculty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).