schema theory

schema theory definition

a cognitive psychology theory that describes how people organize and store information in their memory. ​

based on the assumption that humans are active processors of information

schemas definition

schemas are a mental representation of the world based on ones own unique experiences that help understand and process new information.

schemas uses/info/strengths + weaknesses

• can lead to biases as people tend to fit new information into existing schemas rather than updating them.

• help us to predict what to expect based on what has happened before.

• help our minds to simplify the world around us to help reduce cognitive load.

Assimilation vs Accommodation

• assimilation - when we incorporate new experiences into existing schemas and adapt them in order to make sense of the situation.

• accommodation - when a new experience doesn’t fit into any schema and so schemas need to be altered whilst a new schema is also formed.

Barttlet’s war of ghosts aim

to investigate how memory for an unfamiliar story is affected by cultural expectations ​

Barttlet’s war of ghosts rough procedure

got his students at Cambridge to read an unfamiliar story

After reading, the story was taken away, and the students asked to recall what they had read by writing it down. Then the re-written version was read by another student and this student wrote down what they remembered after 15mins…this was repeated 10 times. ​

Barttlet’s war of Ghosts findings

• We recall the meaning of an event/story

• we reconstruct (and sometimes make up) the details to fit with the story. ​

• how stories are remembered depends on existing cultural knowledge or schemas​

• changes in story :

• Details omitted and story shortened.​

• Words changed to fit with the pps own culture – e.g. canoes changed to ‘war boats’​

• Details added from pp’s own culture to make sense of the story

Gender schema 

• Martin and Halverson,

• once a child has established gender identity (2-3 years)  he/she will begin to search the environment for information that encourages the development of gender schema​. 

e.g girls only look at what girls do and ignore anything that doesn’t fit their schema such as girls playing football

what do children use gender schemas for

• help make sense of the world

• develop gender stereotypes

• At first the schema is rigid and inflexible, however, as they get older, their schemas becomes more flexible ​

Liben + Signorella method

showed 106 primary school children 60 drawings of male + female characters doing different jobs e.g male nurses, female fire fighters

Liben + Signorella findings

• children recalled more pictures of men performing masculine behaviours and women performing feminine behaviours

• suggests that children remember gender consistent information and forget gender inconsistent information.

applications of schema theory

• language development

• health and wellbeing

• relationships

language development applications of schema theory

learners use existing schemas about sentence structure, grammar and meaning from their first language to make sense of a new one

health and wellbeing applications of schema theory

• people with mental illnesses have a maladaptive schema → alter beliefs about themselves + world

• Therapists use CBT to identify and challenge maladaptive schemas. 

• e.g depression, anxiety

relationships applications of schema theory

early relationships with parents from an internal working model (schema) that influences our future relationships

Measurement - evaluating schema theory

• schemas are abstract + internal → difficult to measure

• Researchers infer schema activation through behavior (e.g., recall errors, reaction times).​

• Lack of clear operational definitions → challenging to quantify schemas precisely or compare them across individuals.​

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Causality - evaluating schema theory

• lack of clear causal mechanisms

• explains how schemas affect memory and perception, but not always why certain schemas form or how they influence specific cognitive processes.​

• more descriptive than predictive, making it difficult to test causal hypotheses rigorously.​

• direction of causality can be debated on - do schemas cause perception, or does perception shape schemas?​

Bias - evaluating schema theory

• explains how existing mental frameworks (schemas) influence perception and memory. → systematic biases:​

• Confirmation bias

• Stereotyping: Social schemas can reinforce negative biases, e.g., gender or racial stereotypes, contributing to prejudice.​

• These biases support the theory, but they also highlight its potential social consequences, especially in reinforcing inaccurate or harmful beliefs.​

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