Bransford and Johnson (1972)


• Aim: 

  To determine if schema activation would result in better understanding and recall of an ambiguous text.
• Sample: 

  52 participants
• Procedure:

  • Participants divided into three groups: a) No Topic (n=17): Heard passage with no additional information b) Topic After (n=17): Told topic after hearing passage c) Topic Before (n=18): Told topic before hearing passage
  • All participants listened to an ambiguous passage about washing clothes
  • Rated comprehension on a 1-7 scale
  • Recalled passage as accurately as possible
• Results:

  • Topic Before group recalled significantly more idea units
  • No significant difference between No Topic and Topic After groups
• Conclusion: 

  Prior knowledge must be activated to aid comprehension; simply having the knowledge is not sufficient.
• Strengths:

  1. Controlled design: High internal validity, allowing for cause-effect conclusions.
  2. Replicability: Simple design makes it easy to replicate and test reliability.
  3. Practical applications: Findings have been applied to improve educational practices.
• Limitations:

  1. Ecological validity: The task is artificial and may not reflect real-world reading situations.
  2. Sample variability: Individual differences in experience with washing clothes could be a confounding variable.
  3. Assumption of schema activation: Cannot definitively prove that a "laundry schema" was activated.
  4. Limited generalizability: Results may not apply to all types of texts or reading situations.