Schemas are knowledge packages which are built up
through experience of the world. Schemas enable us to
make sense of familiar situations and interpret new
information.
How might schemas lead to
reconstructive memory? (Cohen, 1993)
Ignoring aspects that do not fit with
currently activated schema
Storing central features
rather than the exact
details
Filling in missing
information to make sense
of event
Distorting memories to fit in
with prior expectations
Use as basis for correct
guesses
BREWER & TREYENS,
1981
AIMS
To investigate the effects
of schemas on visual
memory
PROCEDURE
30 PPs were told to wait in a
room designed to look like an
office
Office room contained some typical office
items but also items that were incompatible
with an office schema, e.g. brick
Unexpected recall test
FINDINGS
PPs were more successful
recalling items with high schema
expectancy (the typical office
items)
Less successful recalling
incompatible items
Some PPs were able to recall the incompatible items
PPs made substitution errors - recalling items that
would have high schema expectancy but were not
actually present
PPs made errors involving
wrong placement of items
CONCLUSION
People tend to 'remember' what is
consistent with their schemas and filter out
what is inconsistent (even if it was actually
present)
People use their schemas to ensure
rapid encoding of visual information
Schema influences recall
EVALUATION OF THE
ROLE OF SCHEMAS
Schemas also affect our ability
to store information
Bransford & Johnson (1972)
Constructed passages that would be
difficult to understand without context
One group was given the contextual
information whereas another group did
not receive this information
Compared recall performance between
the two groups
Found that recall was significantly better
for the group given the schema compared
to the group without it
A schema is a vague concept
Schema theory offers no explanation
as to how schemas are acquired in
the first place
Using schemas to make sense of new
information can lead to reconstructing
memory for events