This research note examines a historical example of independent inventions in the social
sciences—specifically, convergences between sociological and cognitive psychological research
on ambiguous stimuli. During the same year (1949), psychologists Bruner and Postman
experimented with perceptual responses to "freak," or anomalous, playing cards, while sociologist Hughes identified patterns of human responses to "anomalous" social identities and roles.
This unique example of synchronic independent inventions illustrates, at once, the hazards of
interprofessional insularity and the rich potential of interdisciplinary cross-fertilization.
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