Schema theory - SAQ Flashcards
When did Bartlett do his experiment?
1932
Aim of Bartlett (1932)
To investigate how the memory of a story is affected by previous knowledge and if cultural background and unfamiliarity with a text would lead to distortion of memory when the story was recalled.
Hypothesis of Bartlett (1932)
Memory is reconstructive and that people store and retrieve information according to expectations formed by cultural schemas
What story were participants told?
A Native American legend called ‘The War of the Ghosts’
What nationality were the participants?
British
What is schema?
mental representations that organise our knowledge, beliefs and expectations
What is social schemas?
mental representations about groups of people
What do social schemas create?
Stereotypes
What are self schemas?
Mental representations about ourselves
What was the first condition of Bartlett (1932)?
One group was asked to use repeated reproduction.
Participants heard the story and were told to reproduce it after a short time and then to do so again repeatedly over a period of time.
What was the second condition of Bartlett (1932)?
The second group was told to use serial reproduction.
They had to recall the story and repeat it to another person.
Was there a difference in both conditions on how they recalled the story?
No
What was the similarity between the two groups?
both conditions changed the story as they tried to remember it
What is distortion?
When the participants change the story as they try to remember it
What are the 3 patterns of distortion in the study?
Assimilation, Levelling and Sharpening
What is assimilation?
The story becomes more consistent with the participants’ own cultural expectations unconsciously.
What is levelling?
the story also became shorter with each retelling as participants omitted information which was seen as not important.
What is sharpening?
Participants also tended to change the order of the story in order to make sense of it using terms more familiar to the culture of the participants. They also added detail and/or emotions.
What does Bartlett (1932) study present?
Remembering is not a passive but is an active process where information is retrieved and changed to fit into existing schemas.
From this he came with the theory of reconstructive memory.
