Bransford and Johnson (1972)

Aim

To investigate the effect of context on comprehension and memory of text passages.

Method

Experiment; independent measures design.

Participants

50 male and female high school students who volunteered to participate in the experiment.

Procedure

Participants heard a tape-recorded passage and were required to recall it as accurately as they could, writing down as many ideas as possible. There were five conditions.

• No context 1: participants heard the passage once.

• No context 2: participants heard the passage twice.

• Context before: participants were given a context picture prior to hearing the passage.

• Context after: participants were given a context picture after hearing the passage.

• Partial context: participants were given a context picture prior to hearing the passage, however the context picture only contained the elements mentioned in the passage without showing how they operate together.

Results

The “context before” condition was the only one that made a significant improvement in terms of the participant’s ability to comprehend and recall it correctly.  

Conclusion

Bransford and Johnson’s study supported the schema theory as it indicated that when shown a full context picture it creates a mental representation which then influences the way information is encoded in memory. Ideas encountered in the passage are linked with the schema and in this way, coding is enhanced.  

Strengths

• Lab experiment - controlled environment, controlled confounding variables

• Achieved researcher aim

• Supports schema theory

Weaknesses

• Low ecological validity

• Social desirability bias - as they volunteered