Schema Theory

Who developed schema theory?

British psychologist Fredric Bartlett

What is schema theory?

explains how humans interpret new information by relating it to existing knowledge frameworks (schemas) and apply it in our thinking and behaviour. 

What assumption is schema theory based on?

humans are active processors of information. We (sometimes unknowingly) interpret and integrate information to understand our experiences, make decisions, and navigate the world around us

What are schemas?

mental frameworks or knowledge structures formed from prior experience and knowledge

What do schemas help us do?

They help us simplify the world, organize information, predict outcomes, guide behaviour, and interpret new experiences

What are the 2 ways we can add new information?

assimilation and accommodations

what is assimilation?

Adding new information by fitting it into existing schemas without changing those frameworks.

e.g. A child who knows what a dog is sees a new breed of dog and calls it “dog” because it fits their existing schema of a dog.

what is accommodation?

Adding new information that doesn’t fit into existing schemas by change or creating new schemas to incorporate the new information.

e.g. The same child sees a cat for the first time and initially calls it a “dog,” but then learns it’s different and adjusts their schema to distinguish cats from dogs.

What are scripts?

a type of schema that represent the expected sequence of events in familiar situations

What influences scripts?

culture and past experience

e.g. Shopping expectations differ between cultures (fixed prices vs. bargaining norms)

What is schema congruent information?

information that fits our existing schema and is therefore familiar to us

What is schema incongruent information?

information that does not fit our existing schema and is therefore unfamiliar to us

What is the role of schemas in the encoding process?

Schemas act as mental filters that guide our attention when we encounter new information.

• they help us select and interpret incoming information based on what we already know

• this means we’re more likely to encode (remember) information that are schema congruent (fits our existing schema) then information that is schema incongruent (does not fit our existing schema)

What is the role of schemas in the storage process?

Schemas provide a structure for how memories are stored.

• Information is stored in memory within related schema networks 

• This organisation helps us make connections between ideas, making long-term storage more coherent

What is the role of schemas in the retrieval process?

Schemas act as cues to retrieve related memories.

• when recalling an event, schemas fill in the gaps with typical expectations

• this makes memory more efficient, but also more prone to errors or false memories

Tesatable?

• schema theory is testable

• supported by studies like (Bartlett, 1932) and (Brewer & Treyens, 1981)

Empirical support?

• biological evidence supports schema-based brain processing

• Mahon et al. (2009) → found that from the visual cortex, information about living and non-living objects is sent to different parts of the brain - even in blind participants 

  • suggest that our brains automatically sort and classify information in the same manner that schema theory predicts 

Applications?

a variety of applications such as: memory, education, mental health, decision-making, etc…

Construct validity

criticized for being too vague or abstract (Cohen, 1993)

Unbiased?

applied across cultures, however early research was Western-centric.

Predictive?

• helps predict patterns in memory and behaviour but not specific outcomes.

e.g. what types of information will be best recalled when given a list of words