Schema Theory (Loftus & Palmer and Anderson & Pichert)

Question 1

Intro (Theory of reconstructive memory (Bartlett) suggests that…)

Answer 1

Theory of reconstructive memory (Bartlett) suggests that memory is an active process that is a reconstruction of different information, rather than passive retrieval.

• Argues that established knowledge (schemas) influence our cognitive processes in all stages
• Humans try to find meaning in experiences. Memory distortion (incorrect memory retrieval, false reconstruction of memories) is impacted by cultural schemas eg. Unfamiliar memories (Confabulation)

Question 2

What are social schemas?

Answer 2

Determines the behavior based on their perceptions, or previous schema, of the situation they’re in

Question 3

Aim of Loftus & Palmer

Answer 3

Study reconstructive memory.

To test hypothesis that wording of a question and post-event information (info a person is exposed to after an event) can alter memory.

Question 4

Sample of Loftus & Palmer

Answer 4

45 students (Opportunity Sample) watched 7 film clips of traffic accidents

Question 5

Procedure of Loftus & Palmer

Answer 5

• After, participants had to describe what had happened from the POV of an eyewitness
• Asked to estimate the speed of a car through a range of leading questions (wording manipulated to get the desired answer)
• Different verb “How fast were the cars going when they smashed/collided/hit/contacted each other?
• Assumption that these words would activate different cognitive schemas about the accident

Question 6

2nd experiment of Loftus & Palmer

Answer 6

• 150 students were shown another film of accidents
• Asked if they could recall broken glass
• “How fast were the cars going when they smashed/hit into each other?)

Question 7

Findings of both Loftus & Palmer experiments

Answer 7

Experiment 1: Highest mean estimate of speed “smashed” (40.8mph) lowest “contacted”

Experiment 2: Those who were asked “smashed” believed that they saw broken glass

Question 8

How does Loftus link to schema theory?

Answer 8

Results show that the way the question was formed (the more “powerful” or “violent” the verb) activates different parts of the participants schema and distorts the person’s memory and into believing that the accident was more severe - memory distortion is based on reconstruction, different from what actually happened but lines up with the cognitive schema of the accident (Bartlett)

Question 9

Strengths of Loftus & Palmer

Answer 9

Lab experiment (all variables are highly controlled) → would allow for causation, that the IV (verbs) did really affect the DV (speed)

Question 10

Limitations of Loftus & Palmer

Answer 10

Participants were aware that they were in an experiment → demand characteristics (adjusting their answer to what the researcher wants)

Ecological validity → because it is a lab exp., the experiment is not generalizable to a real life situation and the clips were recreations and not real life accidents

Question 11

Aim of Anderson & Pichert

Answer 11

Using a passage of text to investigate whether schema processing (previous info) influences encoding (sensory info → meaningful memory) and retrieval (recall)

Question 12

Procedure of Anderson & Pichert

Answer 12

• Divided into two groups
• Given a passage to read (a description of a house)
• While reading, half of the subjects were asked to pretend they were prospective house-buyers (BUYING perspective) and the other half to read as if they were burgling it
• Write down as much as the story as possible

Question 13

Findings of Anderson & Pichert

Answer 13

As burglars, people tended to remember the details of the house better… this may be because a “homebuyer” schema is unfamiliar. These different perspectives of schema influenced retrieval of memory (specific items that aligned with the schema)

Question 14

How does Anderson & Pichert link to schema theory?

Answer 14

Schema affects encoding of memory as well as the recall.

Question 15

Strength of Anderson & Pichert

Answer 15

Highly controlled lab experiment, Cause and effect relationship

Question 16

Limitations of Anderson & Pichert

Answer 16

Low ecological validity

Question 17

Conclusion of schema theory (Both experiments support Bartlett’s Schema theory. Whilst Loftus and Palmer’s experiment demonstrates…)

Answer 17

Both experiments support Bartlett’s Schema theory. Whilst Loftus and Palmer’s experiment demonstrates the process of memory reconstruction during retrieval (recall of speed estimations), Anderson & Pichert demonstrates how memory reconstruction occurs during encoding, an initial learning of the information, and carries on into retrieval. The study also shows a relationship between schema expectancy and the item they would recall → consistency effect