Schema Theory

1.  Fill in the blanks.  "Many people assume that memory  ____________, but research suggests that memory is  _________________"

• works like a video camera / made up of schemas

• made up of schemas / works like a video camera

• Works like a video camera/ influenced by prior knowledge

• influenced by prior knowledge / works like a video camera

Why is the concept of a typical birthday party an example of a cultural schema?

• Because birthday parties are part of many cultural traditions

• Because culture defines what a birthday party ought to be like

• Because concepts, like culture, cannot be directly observed or studied

• Because not everyone celebrates their birthday

Which sentence best summarizes the findings of Bartlett's study?

• The story became disjointed, but participants were able to remember the most unfamiliar details most vividly

• The story became disjointed, and participants often misremembered unfamiliar details in the story

• The story remained a coherent whole, and participants were able to remember the most unfamiliar details most vividly

• The story remained a coherent whole, but participants often misremembered unfamiliar details in the story

What is the main criticism of schema theory?

• Schema theory has not been supported by research evidence

• A schema cannot be observed or studied directly

• Schemas can lead to memory distortions

• The concept of a schema is not well defined

Which is NOT one of the predicted effects of schemas on memory?

• When you aren't completely sure of what happened, you may fill the gaps in your memory with a "best guess"

• Unusual, surprising details will be remembered with increased accuracy

• Schemas improve memory by relating new information to prior knowledge

• Schema-consistent information will be remembered better

Which of the following was not one of the findings of Bartlett's War with Ghosts study?

• There were many extra details added to the story, making the story longer than the original.

• The story remained coherent - that is, it had a clear plot.

• Unimportant details were left out of the story.

• Culturally unfamiliar details were changed to things that were more culturally relevant to the British participants.

Which of the following is not true about schema?

• We continue to create new schema throughout our lives.

• There is biological support that our brain categorizes information into what could be called "schema.”

• Schema play a role in what we remember and what we fail to remember.

• Schema are observable by using modern brain-scanning technology.

When you travel to a foreign country and you see a type of shower that you have never seen before, you tend to use your schema, which are based on past experience, to figure out how to use it.  But when this fails, you go to the reception and someone comes up to show you how to use this new type of shower.  Once you have seen how to use this new type of shower, you add it to your shower schema.  What do psychologists call this process?

• Confabulation

• Accommodation

• Assimilation

• Reconstructive memory

On a trip to a foreign country, you stand at the entrance to a restaurant waiting to be seated.  No one pays any attention to you. After several minutes, you start to get a bit upset and ready to leave, when you notice one of the waiters walking past.  You ask if someone is going to seat you - and he says, you can just sit anywhere.  How would a cognitive psychologist explain what just happened?

• •You are a cognitive miser.  You should have read a guidebook about the restaurant first.

• •You had rationalized that since you were a tourist, you would be noticed and helped.

• •You were following a script for what to expect in a restaurant which did not apply in this culture.

• •Emotion interfered with your decision-making processes.

Which of the following is not a finding of Brewer & Treyens (1981) study?

• Participants remembered objects that they expected to find in an office

• Participants mistakenly remembered objects that they would expect to find in an office but were actually not there.

• Participants remembered objects that they would not expect to find in an office.

• Participants changed the location, shape, or nature of objects in order to fit their schema - for example, the notebook was on the desk and not on the chair.