Dunham grew up in Albion, IL- a town in the southern part of Illinois.[1] Dunham received his B.A. degree from Portland State College in 1962 and his PhD from the University of Southern California in 1966.[1] He studied at USC with Dr. J.P. Guilford. In his doctorate, Dunham and Guilford worked with the concept of intelligence, and developing factor structures that compose this construct. Dunham accepted a position as a faculty member with University of Texas, Austin in Educational Psychology.[1] At the University of Texas, Dunham ran a computer-assisted instruction laboratory and continued studying how we learn concepts.[1]
In his doctorate, Dunham worked closely with J.P. Guilford on developing the factor structure of intelligence. Guilford was known for his “Guilford Structure of Intellect”, where he presented more than 150 different intellectual abilities, along three main dimensions: (1) Operations, (2) Content, and (3) Products. However, Dunham found at least two distinct factors within Guilford’s factor structure Content domain: (1) Figural- Concrete, real world information, tangible objects—things in the environment. It includes visual: information perceived through seeing; auditory: information perceived through hearing; and kinesthetic: information perceived through one's own physical actions. (2) Symbolic- Information perceived as symbols or signs that stand for something else, e.g., Arabic numerals, the letters of an alphabet, or musical and scientific notations.
Beyond working with Guilford, Dunham was considered the pioneer in incorporating computers in education. He brought together government agencies, educational institutions, and computer companies to exchange information on the use of computers.
Summary of publications
Guilford, Dunham, & Hoepfner (1967):[2] Presents the importance of Intelligence factors (a) visual-figural (line-drawings); (b) symbolic (letters); and (c) semantic (meaningful words). Also discusses when a process is viewed as “problem solving”, as when an individual uses whatever resources may address the problem.
Dunham, Guilford, & Hoepfner (1968):[3] The idea of concept learning is presented, which refers to one’s ability to improve with each attempt at a similar task. Dunham simultaneously discusses “trial and error” as a way to problem solve. In this article, Dunham uses factor analysis to explain how learning task scores relate to one’s intellectual ability.
Dunham & Bunderson (1969):[4] Exploration of how different types of instruction, specifically the “decision-rule instruction (DRI)” and “no-rule instruction (NRI)” impact problem solving abilities on tasks.
Reeve, Polson & Dunham (1970):[5] Reeve explores the idea of concept development, and proposes a revision from a two factor model to a four factor model.
Meyers & Dunham (1971):[6] Anxiety and task involvement were measured, to determine their role in one’s aptitude and performance ability. Measures used included memory span and performance ability, and were used in transfer conditions
Professional affiliations
American Association for the Advancement of Science[1]
^Dunham, Jack; Guilford, Joy; Hoepfner, Ralph (1968). "Multivariate approaches to discovering the intellectual components of concept learning". Psychological Review. 75 (3): 206–221. doi:10.1037/h0025697. PMID4874113.
^Dunham, Jack; Bunderson, C. Victor (1969). "Effects of decision-rule instruction upon the relationship of cognitive abilities to performance in multiple-category concept problems". Journal of Educational Psychology. 60 (2): 121–125. doi:10.1037/h0027019.
