Schema+theory

toc =Schema theory= A theory of a cognitive process

Learning outcome:

 * Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies. **

Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.
 * What does //EVALUATE// mean? **

When we evaluate a theory or model of memory, we can use criteria such as the following:
 * methodological issues
 * ethical issues
 * alternative theories
 * research evidence for
 * contradictory research

= =
 * Click here for activities on 'Exploring schema theory' **

**Connecting the LO to principles**
//Examples// of how these are connected to schema theory are identified below:
 * Principles of the Cognitive LOA**
 * 1) Humans are information processors and their mental processes guide behavior (//behavior can be explained in terms of how the mind operates//) - Schema theory is a model for how mental processes can guide our behavior; experiments on schemata indicate that they influence our memory at all levels of processing
 * 2) The mind can be studied scientifically (through experiments) - Anderson and Pichert study
 * 3) Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors - Bartlett study

We use them to:
 * SCHEMAS ** **(or schemata) are mental representations (cognitive structures) created over time from the knowledge gained from our experiences.**
 * help us organize our information about the world (objects, people, situations) - processing information
 * make sense of what we see
 * guide our actions
 * make predictions about the world around us
 * interpret the world around us

[|Schema theory development]
 * Read these:**
 * [|overview]**

Schemata (pl.) can result in:
 * distortions in our perceptions - they can be inaccurate
 * the formation of stereotypes
 * conflict between perception and reality
 * confirmation bias (we ignore information that contradicts our beliefs)


 * Quotes**
 * What is a schema?**
 * “A mental model or representation built up through experience about a person, an object, a situation, or an event.” (Head, 1920)
 * “Organised structures that capture knowledge and expectations of some aspect of the world.” (Bartlett, 1932)
 * // organized systems of actions or thoughts that enable us to mentally represent the object and events of the world in an attempt to adapt to the environment. (Piaget) //

**Defining schema theory**

 * An information processing model of perception and cognition
 * When we acquire new information, we try to fit it into what we already know - similar situations, similar patterns of behavior (schemas we already possess)
 * If it doesn't fit, then our knowledge has to be adjusted, discarded, adapted etc.

Law et al p.70 Check your notes on your definition after reading this page. Do you want to add anything to your definition?
 * READ**

SYNTHESIS
Visit this [|link on exploring schemas and stereotypes] Use the results of the activities that we did at the start and write your own example of each of the following:
 * Person Schema
 * Self-Schema
 * Role Schema
 * Event Schema
 * Group Schemas (also called stereotypes) -a fixed set of characteristics that are attributed to the members of a particular social group or social category.

Exploration
Class activity - a 're-enactment' of the 'War of the Ghosts' activity


 * Bartlett (1932)**
 * READ**
 * Law et al (class text) - page 71-72)
 * // The War of the ghosts // and memory distortions
 * [|Bartlett and reconstructive memory]
 * (keep in mind that you took part in a replica of this)

Synthesis
REVIEW Read through your notes and the links above

WRITE
 * your own definition of 'schema theory'
 * your summary of the Bartlett study (aim, method, findings, conclusions, strengths, limitations)

I: Origins of schema theory

 * READ**

Piaget's t**heory of cognitive development**
//"Piaget argued that people are born with schemes, tendency to organize their thinking processes, which at birth he called reflexes. These schemes are basic building blocks, organized systems of actions or thoughts that enable us to mentally represent the object and events of the world in an attempt to adapt to the environment. As schemes become increasingly more complex they are termed structures.// //In trying to adapt to the environment the following can occur:// Source: [|Cognitivism]
 * //**Assimilation**: This is when an individual uses their existing schemes to make sense of a new event. This process involves trying to understand something new by fitting it into what we already know.//
 * //**Accommodation**: Is the change of existing schemes to respond to a new situation. If new information cannot be made to fit into existing schemes, a new, more appropriate structure must be developed.//
 * //There are also instances when an individual encounters new information that is too unfamiliar that neither assimilation nor accommodation will occur because the individual may choose to **ignore** it.//


 * REVIEW**
 * 1) Piaget argues that schemata are an adaptive mechanism. Explain in your own words how schemata can help us adapt to the environment.
 * 2) When we replicated the Bartlett study with the 'War of the Ghosts' in class, while some words were changed (eg. canoe to 'boat'), and some events changed (eg. the use of a gun, rather than bow and arrow), our class generally presented greater accuracy of recall than the students that Bartlett used in his study. Can you explain why this occurred?

II: Evidence that schemas can affect cognitive processes
Make sure that you can define schema theory - Reviewing previous information -> //When we acquire new information, we try to fit it into what we already know - similar situations, similar patterns of behavior etc. If it doesn't fit, then our knowledge has to be adjusted, discarded, adapted//

__**Study 1: Bartlett (1932)**__ //The War of the ghosts// and memory distortions Memory is subjective - our memory (our recall of events) is affected by our schemata
 * Studies **
 * We level - omit what we think is unnecessary - simplify by leaving out what we don't care about, or don't understand
 * We sharpen - exaggerate
 * Data assimilation - we place new information in the context of what we already know

[|Evaluation] - (You would not include an evaluation of the study if you're using it just to explain how mental representations guide behavior) (keep in mind that you took part in a replica of Bartlett's study)

__**Study 2:** **Anderson & Pichert (1978)**__ Aim: To investigate if schema processing influences both encoding and recall stages of memory processing

Quick outline of the study on the wiki

__**Study 3: Bransford and Johnson (1972)**__ [|A quick overview]
 * Class text Law et al - page 72 - 73
 * // Supporting study // (replication of Bransford and Johnson)
 * Stilwell and Markman [|csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/proceedings/2003/pdfs/213.pdf]

The study of how language (in the context of the wording of questions) can affect recall of eyewitness events (the crashing car study)
 * Study 4: Loftus and Palmer (1974) **
 * [|a quick summary (blends both experiments into 1 set of findings)]
 * [|a longer explanation (explains both experiments and provides an evaluation)]
 * Class text - p. 73 - 75


 * REVIEW**

Using the studies above - find evidence of the following behaviors:
 * Categorizing information to help make sense of it
 * Discarding information that is unfamiliar or not culturally relevant
 * Misinterpreting information because it doesn't fit with expectations or because we've 'filled in gaps' - created a memory that matches our expectations

There is a space for aim and method (experiment etc), so that if you make use of the study in an essay, you can set it in context.
 * Use the table format below to organize the evidence you find into point form notes**

Aim: Method: ||  ||   ||   || Aim: Method: ||  ||   ||   || Aim: Method: ||  ||   ||   || //(identify which experiment you are taking notes on)// Aim: Method: ||  ||   ||   ||
 * || **Categorizing information to help make sense of it** || **Discarding (leaving out) information** || **Misinterpreting information** ||
 * **Bartlett**
 * **Anderson & Pichert**
 * **Bransford & Johnson**
 * **Loftus & Palmer**

__**Extension**__ If you want more evidence, review information under the following link: [] - Scroll down to the section under //'Is memory organized around wording or meaning?'//

__**Seifert & Black (1983)**__ If Subjects are given a story with a common TAU (Thematic Abstraction Unit, Dyer, 1983) and are asked to write similar stories, most write stories that match the TAU [] Markus & Zajonc (1985) investigated social schemata - "clusters of ideas about categories of social events and people" that have been found to influence person perceptions. How might this explain subjects' actions in the Seifert and Black study?
 * Connecting study - Social schemata**

For interest

 * Do moral schemas exist? Might they affect us even though we don't recognize their impact? **
 * Read [|What if you saw something that rocked your world ... and you didn't notice] **

=III: Connection to the Biological LOA= //Caramazza (2009) found that from the visual cortex, information about living and non-living objects is shuttled to different parts of the brain so as to trigger appropriate reactions – even in blind participants// [| http://cranepsych.edublogs.org/2010/01/24/weekly-summary-january-18-22/]
 * Principle: There are biological correlates of behavior**

=IV: Evaluation of schema theory - practice outline=

Evaluate is a higher level thinking command term. It wants you to discuss the strengths and limitations of schema theory NOT strengths and limitations of the studies investigating the theory, __**UNLESS**__, the strength or limitation of these studies is __**USEFUL**__ in helping you identify a strength or limitation of the theory itself. __**Think it through.**__

**CHOOSE: from the outline below BUT make sure that you have at least 1 paragraph on a strength and 1 paragraph on limitations.** Ensure that you include discussion of limitations of the body of research as well, in the context of your OVERALL argument/thesis. Your decision-making on choosing and applying relevant evidence is part of your planning.


 * Begin by reading the concluding comments on schema theory on page 76-77 of Law et al (class text) **

__** Introduction: **__

Outline of schema theory - When we acquire new information, we try to fit it into what we already know - similar situations, similar patterns of behavior etc. If it doesn't fit, then our knowledge has to be adjusted, discarded, adapted etc. 1 sentence __**defining**__ the concept of a schema 1 statement for EACH key point
 * 1 limitation and 2 strengths OR 1 strength and 2 limitations
 * You MUST introduce to the reader what you will discuss (if you feel you can only write about 1 limitation and 1 strength in 1 hour, that is ok - quality over quantity!!)

__** POINT 1: (a strength) **__ Key point - one strength is that schema theory explains how we __**organize**__ information in the context of what has meaning for us. We put information into categories to help us make sense of it.

Quick outline of the study on the wiki
 * Evidence 1: the Anderson and Pichert study **
 * Brief outline of aim, procedure, (no more than 1-2 sentences)
 * Make connections from the study in relation to your point
 * //Participants gain new info – story about a house//
 * //Encoded it – transformed it into meaningful memory//
 * //What helped them make it meaningful? Used schemata//
 * //They fitted it into what they already knew//
 * //How do we know that participants were doing this? (following the model identified by schema theory)?//
 * //Because of the recall stages of the experiment//
 * //Schema – burglar – remembered burglar information//
 * //Schema – house owner – remembered house owner information//
 * ** Why is this relevant to the topic sentence? **

Markus & Zajonc (1985) investigated social schemata - "clusters of ideas about categories of social events and people" that have been found to influence person perceptions. **Why is this relevant to the topic sentence?**
 * Evidence 2: Social schemata **

Seifert & Black (1983) if Ss are given a story with a common TAU (Thematic Abstraction Unit, Dyer, 1983) and are asked to write similar stories, most write stories that match the TAU []
 * Evidence 3: We hold on to what is familiar **
 * Why is this relevant to the topic sentence? **

__** POINT 2 (a strength) **__ Key point: schema theory explains why we may __**discard**__ information - maybe because its not culturally relevant, or because we're simply not familiar with it Mental models help us
 * make sense of what we see
 * guide our actions


 * Evidence 1 - Bartlett study **
 * Brief outline of aim, procedure, (no more than 1-2 sentences)
 * Make connections from the study in relation to your point.
 * Participants gain new info – story of the 'ghosts'
 * Encoded it – transformed it into meaningful memory
 * Changed terms - canoe -> boat
 * points that did not make sense were discarded
 * Significance?
 * memory is an active process
 * memories are 'reconstructions' - we keep what has meaning
 * helps explain why the more connections we find in new information, the more chance we have of remembering it

__**Limitations**__ of the study
 * no standardized instructions
 * lack of ecological validity - took place in a lab
 * deliberately chose to use a story from an unfamiliar culture - to what extent can findings be generalized or applied to populations outside this study?
 * would you encounter OR be asked to repeat a story like this in real life?
 * **SO - overall, how valid are Bartlett's findings to your topic sentence?**

Support with [|Bransford and Johnson study on 'Washing clothes'] (you can also review it in your class text on p.72-73 'title' versus 'no title' conditions
 * Findings from the Bartlett study indicate that we need context to help us understand the world around us **
 * This is further supported by other studies **
 * Evidence 2 - Bransford and Johnson **
 * WHY is this relevant to the topic sentence for this paragraph?
 * Bartlett argued that schemata became active during retrieval. Does this study's findings support that? Or was schematic activation more significant during **encoding** of information?
 * how is this connected to **discarding** information(the point in the topic sentence)

__** POINT 3 (a strength - USE ONLY IF YOU ARE ABLE TO WRITE A 6 PARAGRAPH ESSAY) **__ Key point: Schema theory explains why we __**misinterpret**__ information - because we're always trying to make sense of what we see - filling in the gaps etc so we think we see things we haven't seen Mental models help us


 * make predictions about the world around us
 * interpret the world around us

Loftus and Palmer (1974) - reconstruction of car accident Review your notes. You can also see a quick overview in your class text Law et al on page 74
 * Evidence 1 - Eyewitness studies **
 * Brief outline of aim, procedure, (no more than 1-2 sentences)
 * Make connections from the study in relation to your point. For example:
 * language used ('contacted' versus 'smashed') - activated different schemas that influenced speed estimates.


 * Evidence 2 - Loftus et al (1987) - weapons effect (see page 74 - 75 of class text) **
 * Brief outline of aim, procedure, findings
 * Make connections from the study in relation to your point.

__** Point 4 - Limitations (YOU MUST INCLUDE A DISCUSSION OF LIMITATIONS IF THE COMMAND TERM IS '//EVALUATE//') **__ "//It is not entirely clear how schemas are acquired in the first place and how they influence cognitive processes. Cohen (1993) argues that the concept of schema is too vague and hypothetical to be useful. Schema cannot be observed. Even the use of an fMRI simply shows brain activity; it does not clarify what exactly the individual is processing at the time//." (Crane and Hannibal page 72)
 * Bartlett argued that schemas affect retrieval rather than comprehension, yet the above studies indicate that schemas are involved both at the comprehension stage, as we encode information, and at the retrieval stage.
 * We understand that schemas can help us increase our recall, and that they can also distort our memories
 * However, schemas depend on the individual. We do not all possess the same schemas. We cannot predict what an individual may remember at any one point.
 * Also, distortions in memory do NOT always take place, memories can be accurate.

=Extended reading=

**Application to other behaviors**
[|Cognitive theories of learning]
 * Learning**

Anderson (1994) - code of the streets Glassman, p. 381 []
 * Cognitive schemata and aggressive behavior**