IB Psych: Schema Theory and Reliability of One Cognitive Process Quiz

Flashcards based on the Schema Theory and Reliability of One Cognitive Process Quiz Review handout

Schemas

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