Schema Theory-Bransford and Johnson 1972

Bransford and Johnson-Aim

Investigated the effect of context on comprehension and memory of text passages

Bransford and Johnson-Sample

5 groups of participants

Bransford and Johnson-Procedure

Irrespective of the group, all participants heard the following tape-recorded passage

passage was about a narrative about a balloon, containing 14 idea units (details)

Participants were instructed, after hearing the passage, to recall it as accurately as they could, and if they could not remember it word for word, to write down as many ideas as possible. They were given seven minutes to do that.

5 conditions:

1. no context 1 - participants simply heard the passage

2. no context 2- participants heard the passage twice

3. context before - prior to hearing the passage, participants were provided with a context picture and given 30 seconds to study it

4. context after - after hearing the passage, participants were provided with a context picture

5. partial context - a context picture was provided before the passage; this picture contained all the objects, but the objects were rearranged

Bransford and Johnson-Results

Out of the 14 idea units in the passage, participants were able to recall

no context 1 - 3.6 ideas

no context 2 - 3.8 ideas

context before - 8 ideas

context after - 3.6 ideas

partial context - 4.0 ideas

The context before condition made a difference. Hearing the same passage twice makes almost no difference in terms of comprehension and memory; presenting the context after the passage is no good; and a partial context (which shows the objects but not relations between them) is only marginally better than no context at all.

Using the schema theory, these findings can be interpreted by referring to a "mental representation" that the full context picture creates prior to hearing the text passage. After the schema has been created (or activated) it influences the organization of our knowledge

arguably, the idea units from the text passage are more effectively encoded because, in the process of encoding, they are linked with the schema

Bransford and Johnson-Strengths

construct validity

The variation of variables being tested allows for the theory to be tested in several ways, meaning there is little reliance on a limited foundation of information. Because it was a laboratory experiment, it is inherently well-controlled.

temporal validity

The study and how it is conducted allows for it to be replicated throughout time, not relying on unique aspect of today's society. It has very little reliance on technology, apart from the passage being played.

Bransford and Johnson-Limitations

Because individual schemas affect how one views their surroundings, it may have had a slight effect on their remembrance of the story, aside from the context or lack thereof.

schema

Definition: A mental representation of knowledge stored in the brain. A schema can be seen as a network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations about particular aspects of the world.

Schema processing is usually automatic. It involves information from both bottom up and top down processes, which is used to interpret the incoming information (pattern recognition, interpretation.)

Explanations?

Schema Theory argues that what we know will influence the outcome of information processing.

Once information is observed and process, any missing "information" will be filled in by "schemas," which rely on previous knowledge or sheer invention to fit our conceptual frameworks.

More on schemas:

What we already know will influence the outcome of information processing.

Distortions: If information is missing, the brain will invent something that seems to fit in. This can result in mistakes (called, yes, you guessed it, distortions!)

Even more on Schemas

Schema are used to organize our knowledge, to assist recall, to guide our behaviour, to predict likely happenings and to help us to make sense of current experiences. Schemas are cognitive structures that are derived from prior experience and knowledge.

They simplify reality, setting up expectations about what is probable in relation to particular social and textual contexts. Schemas are culturally specific but may vary even within a single culture because of such factors as class.