Cognitive Level of Analysis
OBJECTIVE: Evaluate Schema Theory
with reference to research studies.
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder’s
Schema
• Cognitive process are influenced by
social/cultural factors
– Schema
• Definition: a mental representation of knowledge that
guides decisions/behaviors
• Cultural/social influence may lead to distortions of
schemas (e.g.. thin = beauty)
• Self Schema: how we organize info about ourselves
• Social Schema: how we organize info about groups
(stereotypes)
– Schema Theory (Bartlett)
• Networks of knowledge, beliefs, expectations about
particular aspects of the world
• Experiences continually inform, change, influence our
existing schemas and the formation of new ones
• Research example: Bartlett and the War of
Ghosts (1932)
– AIM: to test the effects of schema on recall
Bartlett’s Method
• Subjects were separated into 2 groups
– Serial reproduction
• The first participant reads a story and reproduces it,
this is read by the second participant who reproduces it
for a third participant and so on until the seventh
reproduction.
– Repeated reproduction
• The same participant contributes all seven
reproductions, these reproductions are separated by
intervals of 15 minutes.
Bartlett’s Results
• The two methods led to very similar findings
– Serial Reproduction: the stories became shorter
each time and there were distortions in the story.
– These distortions made the story more
understandable from the participants experiences
and cultural background.
– Things culturally unfamiliar to the participants
were replaced with familiar ones. (Hunting seals
to fishing).
– Shows that schemas were used in recall.
Evaluation of Bartlett
• Strengths
– Provides evidence that the way we remember
depends on our prior knowledge in the form of
schemas
– Ecologically valid
– Ethically sound
• Weaknesses
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Only used English participants.
Different cultures may produce different results.
Participants were not of the general population.
His approach to research lacked objectivity.
Was too casual as he simply asked for recall at various
intervals (lack of control)
Distortions
• Schema distortions result when we have
trouble making sense of, or filling in the
missing bits of new information
• Research Example: Turnbull’s study of the
BaMbuti Tribe in Central Africa
(1961)
• The BaMbuti tribe lived in a densely forested
region of Central Africa.
• This environment greatly impacted their
ability to perceive distance.
• Turnbull found that the BaMbuti were not
able to perceive objects beyond a distance of
150 feet (approx. 50 yards) by taking a young
member of the tribe named Kengi out on the
savannah.
• From a ridge, Turnbull showed the Kengi
animals far in the distance.
• Kengi described the distant animals as “bugs”
and was astonished when Turnbull drove him
closer to the animals who naturally increased
in size as the jeep got closer. Kengi even
accused Turnbull of being a witchdoctor.
• In reality, Kengi was unable to complete the
perceptual rules of “Shape Constancy” and
“Size Constancy”, something that we take for
granted thanks to our environment.
• Kengi could “see” the animals, but he was
experiencing a schematic distortion. There
was no previous experience to guide his new
perceptions.
Schemas and Memory
• Anderson and Pichert (1978) H&C p. 72
• Bansford and Johnson (1972)
– Aim: Identify stage(s) in processing where
schemas exert their influence
– Method: subjects in 3 groups heard a long speech
• Group 1: No title, only story
• Group 2:Title and told the story is about “washing
clothes” pre-reading
• Group 3: Title and told story is about “washing clothes”
post-reading
• Subjects asked to recall as much of story as possible
• Results
– Participants in the no title and title after
conditions found the paragraph difficult to
comprehend than the title before group.
– The “title before” condition participants activated
schematic knowledge about what is involved in
washing clothes and aided understanding.
Schemas and Stereotyping
• McRae et al. (1994)
– Aim: examine the effects of schema on
stereotypes
– Method: First, participants had to form
impressions of a number of target persons
described by name and 10 personality traits.
• At the same time participants were also doing
a comprehension test for which there were
two conditions:
– Half of participants were told the jobs of the
target persons.
– Half were not.
• Results
– Participants who relied on job stereotypes did
perform better at both tasks. For example
knowing that someone was a doctor elicited
responses such as “caring, reliable, intelligent”.
– Schemas can influence the formation of
stereotypes.
Research on Schemas and Gender
• Martin and Halverson (1987)
• Argued that children as young as 2 or 3 who have
acquired basic gender identity start to form
gender schemas, which consist of organized sets
of beliefs about the sexes.
• This is an in-group/out-group schema: organized
around which toys/activities are “for boys” or “for
girls”.
• Supports formation of Own-gender schema :
how to behave in gender stereotyped ways.
• Martin and Halverson (1983)
– Showed 5-6 year old children pictures of schema
consistent and inconsistent activities. Schema
inconsistent activities were often misremembered
1 week later.
• Bradbard et al. (1986)
– Boys and girls between ages 4-9 were shown
gender neutral objects and told that some were
boy objects and others were girl objects .
– Results: children spent much more time playing
with “gender appropriate” objects.
– A week later the children remembered whether
any given object was a “boy” or a “girl” object.
Evaluation of Gender Schema Theories
• + Helps explain why children’s gender role belief and
attitudes change little after middle childhood.
• + Focuses on child as being actively involved in making
sense of the world in the light of its present knowledge.
• -Theory emphasizes the role of the individual child in
gender development and de-emphasizes the role of
environmental/social/cultural factors.
• -Likely the importance of schemas and other cognitive
factors in determining behavior is exaggerated within
theory.
• - Doesn’t explain why gender schemas develop and take
the form they do.