CLOA - Evaluation of Schema Theory

Question 1

schema theory

Answer 1

• encounters are rarely completely new
• the way we process information and act is determined by relevant previous knowledge (schemas)
• schemas are constructed through personal experience and taught beliefs
• fairly stable, resistant to change => helps us exhibit consistent behaviour

supporting studies:

• Bartlett (1932)
• Bransford and Johnson (1972)

Question 2

functions of schema

Answer 2

• organise info
• increase information-processing efficiency
• gives prior info/expectations about people/events/etc
• regulates behaviour
• allows for consistency in behaviour (as schemas are resistant to change)

Question 3

Define schema

Answer 3

cognitive structure that provides framework for organising info about people, the world, events, and actions

Question 4

Bartlett (1932) - Aim

Answer 4

• to support the theory that memory is an active reconstructive process
• to prove that schemas influence certain details during memory reconstruction

Question 5

Bartlett (1932) - Process

Answer 5

1. English participants were asked to read a Native American folk tale (War of the Ghosts)
2. Their memory of the story was tested using serial reproduction or repeated reproduction

Question 6

Bartlett (1932) - Findings

Answer 6

• with successive reproductions, the story became progressively shorter
• distortions were introduced in the recollection of the story (e.g. hunting seals became fishing, canoe became boat…)

Question 7

Bartlett (1932) - Conclusion

Answer 7

• more complex info = higher chance of distortion
• people use existing schemas to subconsciously fill in gaps in memory
• according to Bartlett, memory is an imaginative reconstruction of experience
• new information is strongly influenced by activated schemas

Question 8

Bartlett (1932) - Evaluation

Answer 8

unsophisticated methodology:

• Bartlett didn’t explicitly ask participants to be as accurate as possible
• environment not controlled

Question 9

Define rationalisation

Answer 9

The process of making a story conform to the cultural expectations of the listeners

Question 10

Bransford and Johnson (1972) - Aim

Answer 10

to identify the processing stage at which schemas are likely to exert influence

Question 11

Bransford & Johnson (1972) - Process

Answer 11

1. Participants heard a long speech that made vague references with no context
2. 3 conditions:
   - no title
   - title before
   - title after
3. Participants were asked to indicate how easy they found it to understand the speech, and were asked to recall as much of it as possible

Question 12

Bransford and Johnson (1972) - Findings

Answer 12

• participants of the ‘no title’ and ‘title after’ conditions found the paragraph much more difficult to comprehend
• participants of the ‘title before’ condition remembered much more of the speech

Question 13

Bransford and Johnson (1972) - Conclusion

Answer 13

• in the ‘title before’ condition, the background information given prior to the speech activated schemas involved with the subject
• this helped disambiguate the speech
• perceiving the passage within the context defined by the relevant schemas improved understanding.
• in the ‘title after’ condition, the context was given too late for participants to comprehend the material as they had already forgotten most of it

Question 14

Strengths of schema theory

Answer 14

• lots of empirical evidence

schema theory is helpful in understanding how the mind:

• processes and stores information
• distorts memory
• provides expectations

Question 15

Weaknesses of schema theory

Answer 15

• not many studies evaluate limitations of schema theory
• unclear why info that doesn’t suit our schemas are forgotten or distorted
• unclear how schemas are acquired
• unclear why the rationalizations may be inaccurate
• unclear how schemas influence cognitive processes
• o unclear how people choose between relevant schemas when categorising people
• Schema theory focuses too much on inaccuracies of„ memory – most of„ the time people remember accurately
• Cohen (1993): concept of schemas too vague and hypothetical to be useful

Question 16

what to write when asked “Evaluate schema theory”

Answer 16

• define schema
• define schema theory
• functions of schema
• real life applications (e.g. eyewitness testimony, Loftus 1987)
• weigh strengths and weaknesses
• for empirical support, cite: Bartlett, 1932 – war of the ghosts, and Bransford and Johnson, 1972 – speech on laundry (title before, title after, no title)
• for weaknesses, remember Cohen (1993): concept of schemas too vague and hypothetical to be useful