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Flashcards based on the Schema Theory and Reliability of One Cognitive Process Quiz Review handout
Schemas
Mental structure of preconceived ideas in which new information is perceived and organized based on past experiences
Reconstructive Memory
Idea that memories are not stored exactly as replicas of past experiences, but are instead reconstructed and altered each time they are retrieved
False Memories
Fabricated or distorted recollections of an event, which can sometimes contain real elements that have been distorted, or no real elements at all
Anderson & Pichert (1979) is related to…
Schemas
Anderson & Pichert (1979): Nickname
“House tour”
Anderson & Pichert (1979): Aim
To see if people would remember more details about a story based on an assigned perspective; to see if schemas could play a role in encoding and recalling of information
Anderson & Pichert (1979): Methods
Laboratory experiment
Participants split in 2 groups read story related to purchasing home in perspective of burglar or homebuyer
Blind study
Given various recall tasks about items in house
Asked to recall story again - but half asked to switch perspectives
Anderson & Pichert (1979): Results
Burglar information better recalled than homebuyer information
Student’s didn’t have homebuyer schema
Groups recalled more information relevant to their perspective
Participants who changed perspective saw increase in recall
Yuille & Cutshall (1986) is related to…
Reliability of memory
Yuille & Cutshall (1986): Nickname
“The Gun Store”
Yuille & Cutshall (1986): Aim
To see if different leading questions would affect the memory of eyewitnesses at a crime scene, testing the reliability of memory
Yuille & Cutshall (1986): Methods
Natural/quasi-experiment
Eyewitnesses of actual robbery and homicide questioned and interviewed 4 months later
Half asked if they saw “a” broken headlight or “the” broken headlight
There was no broken headlight
Half asked if they saw “a” yellow panel or “the” yellow panel on car
Panel was blue
Yuille & Cutshall (1986): Results
Eyewitnesses mostly reliable
Able to recount large amount of evidence correctly
Most said there was no broken headlight or yellow panel
Recall might’ve been influenced by adrenaline rush
Brewer & Treyens (1981) is related to…
Schemas
Brewer & Treyens (1981): Nickname
“The Office”
Brewer & Treyens (1981): Aim
To investigate role of schema in encoding and retrieval of episodic memory
Brewer & Treyens (1981): Method
Laboratory experiment
Participant would wait in room without being told to pay attention to objects
Room had objects typical of office, but had some odd items too
Also some items usually found in office excluded
Participant would be called into other room after some time and asked to recall info: 1 of 3 groups
Written then verbal
Drawing
Verbal only
Brewer & Treyens (1981): Results
Participants in writing and drawing condition remembered more items that fit into schema of office
When asked to choose from list, more likely to remember oddball items
Also higher rate of remembering schema-congruent items not in room
Brewer & Treyens (1981): How does it support schema theory?
Demonstrate how schemas influence memory recall
More participants remembered objects congruent with office schema (ex. desk, chair) than objects not usually found in office (ex. skull)
Shows default assumptions of what should be found in a location will strongly influence their memory
Therefore, this study supports assumption of schema theory that our previous understanding and knowledge in a given setting influences memory
