Brewer and Treyens💗

Question 1

Year

Answer 1

1981

Question 2

Aim

Answer 2

Investigate the role of schema in the encoding and retrieval of episodic memory.

Question 3

Sample

Answer 3

86 university psychology students

Question 4

Procedure

Answer 4

• First: Individually seated in room made to look like office (had items office would typically have, and not have. Some typical items were omitted)
  – Kept in room for 35 seconds. Told they were ‘waiting for previous participant to be finished’
• Second: they were put in 1 of 3 recall conditions (30 written recall followed by verbal recognition, 29 drawing recall, or 27 just verbal recognition)

Afterwards they were given a questionnaire with one critical question asking them if they thought they were going to be asked to recall the items in the room, and 93% said no.

Question 5

Results and Conclusion

Answer 5

Write/draw: More likely to remember items that were congruent with schema of office, and changed nature of objects to match schema

Verbal: More likely to remember congruent items despite them not being in the room, and also remembered incongruent items that were in the room better

This shows that their schema played a role in the encoding and retrieval of memory.