She is a leading researcher in the study of analogical reasoning. She developed the structure-mapping theory of analogy and similarity, which has wide application. As her APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award citation (2016) states: “For achievements in research and theory in cognitive psychology and cognitive development, especially for developing the structure-mapping theory of analogy and similarity, for highlighting and elucidating analogy as a central learning mechanism and for describing and explaining the development and role of relational language. These ideas are vital underpinnings of a science of learning, fostering the creation of powerful learning tools that build on foundational human thinking skills and enabling new insights into human development.” Her work on
structure-mapping theory was foundational for the development of the
structure mapping engine by
Ken Forbus. This involves the mapping of knowledge from one domain into another or from the base to the target for the purpose of guiding reasoning, to develop conjectures, and to generalize experiences into abstract schema. Gentner also maintained that this theory of analogy can be used to model other subprocesses in analogical reasoning. She also coined the
kind world hypothesis, claiming that superficial properties usually tell a lot about the structural features of the object: "If something looks like a tiger, it probably is a tiger". For this reason, she argued that due to the environment in which humans have evolved, risk avoidance became a top priority so that the cost of missing a truly deep analogy is preferable to the risk of overlooking a real danger. Gentner has contributed in developing a sophisticated model of analogy use - the manner in which new situations are dealt with through adaptation based on previous experiences or similar situations that transpired in the past. Gentner's contributions to cognitive theory are in three arenas: analogy (including similarity and metaphor); language development; and interactions between language and cognition. Gentner was awarded the 2016
Rumelhart Prize for Contributions to the Theoretical Foundations of Human Cognition. Her Rumelhart Prize commendation states “Dr. Dedre Gentner, the recipient of the 2016 Rumelhart Prize, personifies the success of Cognitive Science as an interdisciplinary enterprise, tackling foundational questions about the mind through the seamless integration of psychological theory, empirical methodology, and computational insight. The resulting work has shaped our understanding of learning, reasoning, language, and the very nature of mental representation. Gentner has made important contributions to the study of verbs, mental models, similarity, language and thought, as well as word learning in children. Underlying this diverse body of work is a common thread: an interest in how it is that we can represent and reason about relationships, such as that between the arguments of a relational predicate, or between two models that are superficially distinct, yet share common underlying structure. It's not surprising, then, that this year's recipient has also been a pioneer in the contemporary study of analogical reasoning, and it is this work for which she is best known. Gentner has influenced the field not only through her prolific experimental work with both children and adults, but also for the general theory of analogical reasoning that she developed and tested alongside students and collaborators: Structure Mapping Theory. A central insight of this theory is that analogies consist of matching relational structures between a base domain and a target domain. The properties of objects in the domains need not match, and deeply nested relational structures are favored over independent relations. In the analogy between heat flow and water flow, for example, the relevant similarities involve a flow of some quantity from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, even though the domains differ in many superficial respects. This theory was implemented in the Structure-Mapping Engine (SME), which both formalized the theory and offered a computationally-tractable algorithm for carrying out the process of mapping structures and drawing inferences. Gentner's work has not been restricted to analogical reasoning, however, and her influential edited volumes – on mental models in 1983, on analogical reasoning in 2001, and on language and thought in 2003, attest to the breadth of her interests and impact.” ==Early life and education==