Schemas

• Schema helps you organise all the information you know
• Schema contains all information you know about an object, action or concept
• • When information is consistent with schema, it is assimilated into the schema
  • When information is inconsistent with the schema, accommodation occurs and the schema has to change in order to resolve the problem
• Types of schema:

  Role schemas:

  Behaviour which is expected from someone in a certain role, setting or situation

  Event schemas:

  These are also scripts. Contain info about what happens in a situation

  Self schemas:

  Contain info about ourselves based on physical characteristics and personality as well as beliefs and values
• Problems with schemas

  • Stop people from learning new information
  • Holds expectations or beliefs about a certain subgroup of people may bias the way we process info
  • More likely to pay attention to info we can assimilate to
• Bartlett - War of the Ghosts - Method

  • English Ps asked to read native american folk tale called 'war of the ghosts'.
  • Story was unfamiliar with strange and unusual names, ideas and objects
  • Story was different structure to usual
  • Ps asked to recall story
• Bartlett - War of the Ghosts - Findings

  • All participants changed story to fit with own schema
  • Details of story became more english
  • Story contained elements of English Culture
  • Length of story increased
  • Information remembered decreased
• Bartlett - War of the Ghosts - Conclusions

  • People use own schemas to help interpret and remember the world around them
• Bartlett - War of the Ghosts - Evaluation

  • Study conducted in lab setting --> lack ecological validity
  • Influential for future cognitive research