SCHEMA THEORY

📘 Definition Table

Term	Definition
Schema	A mental framework or cognitive structure that organizes knowledge, beliefs, and expectations about the world.
Schema Theory	The idea that all knowledge is organized into units (schemas), which influence how information is encoded, stored, and retrieved.
Encoding	The process of transforming sensory input into a form that can be processed and remembered.
Retrieval	Accessing stored information, which can be influenced by existing schemas.
Reconstruction	The process of piecing together memory based on schemas rather than an exact replay of events.
Cognitive Bias	A systematic error in thinking due to reliance on schemas and heuristics.
Assimilation	Integrating new information into existing schemas.
Accommodation	Modifying existing schemas to incorporate new information.

🧠 Core Concepts

1️⃣ Overview:

• Schema theory explains how people use stored knowledge (schemas) to interpret new information.
  
• Schemas help simplify complex information but can also distort recall.
  
• They act as mental shortcuts guiding attention, encoding, and memory retrieval.
  

🔬 Key Studies Supporting Schema Theory

📄 Bartlett (1932) – “War of the Ghosts”

Aim: Investigate how memory of a story is influenced by cultural schemas.
Procedure: British participants read a Native American folk story (“War of the Ghosts”) and recalled it after days or weeks.
Findings:

• Story became shorter and more conventional.
  
• Culturally unfamiliar details (canoes, ghosts) were changed to fit British expectations.
  Conclusion:
  
• Memory is reconstructive.
  
• Recall is influenced by pre-existing cultural schemas.
  ✅ Supports schema theory: People actively reconstruct memories using their prior knowledge.
  

Evaluation:

• ✅ Groundbreaking — introduced reconstructive memory concept.
  
• ⚠️ Low ecological validity (artificial task).
  
• ⚠️ Qualitative analysis open to researcher bias.
  
• ✅ Replicated by modern studies (Brewer & Treyens, 1981).
  

📄 Brewer & Treyens (1981) – Office Schema

Aim: Investigate whether people’s memory for objects in a room is influenced by their schemas of what an office should contain.
Procedure: Participants sat briefly in an office containing typical and atypical items (e.g., skull, brick). Later asked to recall or recognize objects.
Findings:

• Recalled schema-consistent items (desk, chair) more than inconsistent ones.
  
• Often falsely remembered typical items not actually present (books).
  Conclusion:
  
• Schema-driven expectations guide encoding and retrieval.
  ✅ Supports schema theory — memory is biased by schema expectations.
  

Evaluation:

• ✅ High ecological relevance (realistic setting).
  
• ⚠️ Artificial recall task.
  
• ⚠️ Potential demand characteristics.
  
• ✅ Empirically strong — consistent with other schema research.
  

📄 Anderson & Pichert (1978) – Role Perspective in Recall

Aim: Test whether schema activation (house-buyer vs. burglar) affects recall.
Procedure: Participants read a house description from one of two perspectives, recalled details, then switched perspectives and recalled again.
Findings:

• Participants recalled new information relevant to their new schema.
  Conclusion:
  
• Schemas can influence retrieval, not just encoding.
  ✅ Shows schema theory explains both selective attention and memory recall.
  

💬 Evaluation of Schema Theory

Strengths	Limitations
Supported by a wide range of empirical studies.	Vague and difficult to test experimentally.
Explains distortions in memory and perception.	Oversimplifies memory — ignores emotion and biological processes.
Useful in understanding stereotypes, eyewitness testimony, and learning.	Deterministic — assumes schemas always influence recall.
Supported by both cognitive and neuroimaging evidence (activation of schema-related brain areas).	Some cultural biases in early schema research.

💡 TOK Link Schema theory demonstrates that our “knowledge” is interpretive rather than objective.If memory is reconstructive, can we ever claim to know the past accurately? TOK Reflection: How do culture and language shape the schemas that define our understanding of reality?

🌍 Real-World Connection Explains stereotype formation and confirmation bias in social perception. Applied in education — teaching new material is easier when linked to prior schemas. Important in eyewitness testimony — memory may be distorted by schema-driven reconstruction (Loftus & Palmer, 1974).

❤️ CAS Link Create awareness projects on bias and memory — e.g., how stereotypes affect perception. Conduct group memory tests showing schema-based distortion and reflect on ethical implications. Volunteer in tutoring programs to help peers use schema activation strategies for learning.

🧪 IA Guidance Ideal for cognitive IA experiments: use schema recall tasks. Example: Office schema or “story recall” paradigm. Dependent variable: number of accurate vs. schema-consistent false recalls. Ethical, simple, and aligns with original cognitive methods.

🧠 Examiner TipsAlways name and describe a supporting study (Bartlett, Brewer & Treyens, or Anderson & Pichert). Explain how findings support schema theory (link mechanism to result). Evaluate construct validity — schemas can’t be directly observed. Link to cognitive bias and memory distortion for higher-level analysis.