Cognitive Level of Analysis
Lesson objective: To evaluate schema
theory with reference to two studies
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Schemas
A schema is:
– A cognitive schema are
networks of
knowledge, beliefs, and
expectations about
particular aspects of
the world
Schemas
• A schema is a mental framework or body of
knowledge that organises and synthesises
information about something
• We have schemas for:
–
–
–
–
specific people (e.g. one‘s best friend)
groups of people (e.g. traffic wardens)
events (e.g. how to order in a restaurant)
roles (e.g. how a pilot should behave in a cockpit), places
and objects
• Schemas aid us in interpreting the world
Brewer and Treyens (1981)
• Brewer and Treyens did research into schema
theory and we will be recreating their
experiment now
• You will be seeing a picture for 35 seconds
• When you see the word NOW try to recall as
many things as possible from the picture by
writing them down
NOW
Answers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Chairs
Poster
Notice board
Typewriter
Fan
Basket
Bottle
Skull
Globe
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Umbrella
Boxes
Table
Stacks of Paper
Kettle
Stone
Screwdriver / Tools
Brewer and Treyens Findings
• Brewer & Treyens found that participants recalled
the office things best
• They also found that participants included things
that you would expect to find in an office but weren’t
in this particular picture
• Did you find this?
• Participants didn’t recall things that you wouldn’t
expect to find in an office such as the screwdriver
and stone
• However, they did recall the skull. Brewer and
Treyens suggested that this was because it’s weird.
Bartlett (1932) – The war of the ghosts
• Another study on schemas and their effect on
memory recall has been done by Frederic
Bartlett
• Read through pages 82 – 83 in the textbooks
and complete a key study sheet for Bartlett‘s
– The war of the ghosts experiment
Plenary
The procedure is actually quite simple. First you
arrange things into different groups. Of course one
pile may be sufficient depending on how much
there is to do…it is important not to overdo things.
That is, it is better to do too few things at once
than too many. In the short run this may not seem
important, but complications can easily arise. A
mistake can be expensive as well. At first the
whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon,
however, it will become just another fact of life.
(Bransford and Johnson, 1972)