Key idea: Schemas are mental frameworks that help us understand and remember, but can also distort what we recall.
How schemas work
1
Schemas
Mental frameworks built from experience, such as what usually happens in a restaurant.
2
They help
They let us understand and predict quickly, filling gaps with what usually happens.
3
They distort
They can add expected details, or drop ones that do not fit: a source of bias.
Organise · Predict · Distort
Bransford and Johnson (1972) played students a vague passage about washing clothes. Students told the topic first understood it better and recalled about twice as many ideas.
Go further: higher-level insight: The same schema that helps you understand can bias your memory. Strong answers show both sides.
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Key idea: Schema theory explains both good understanding and predictable errors, but schemas cannot be seen directly.
Strengths
- Explains understanding and errors
- Supported by experiments
- Applies to stereotypes, witnesses
Limitations
- Schemas are inferred, not observed
- Vague on how schemas form
- Short lab passages
Schema theory is strongest as an explanation of why memory fills gaps with what usually happens.
Watch out: Show the schema at work. Say which schema was active and what it added or dropped.