Cognition, 8e
Chapter 8
General Knowledge
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
schema—generalized knowledge about a
situation, an event, or a person
Schema theories are especially helpful
when psychologists try to explain how
people process complex situations and
events.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Background on Schemas and Scripts
Schema theories propose that people
encode "generic" information about a
situation, then use this information to
understand and remember new examples
of the schema.
"This is just like what happened when . . ."
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Background on Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Scripts
• script—simple, well-structured sequence
of events
• restaurant script
• life scripts
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Background on Schemas and Scripts
Identifying the Script in Advance
Scripts are recalled more accurately if
identified in advance.
Demonstration 8.4: Trafimow & Wyer (1993)
• scripts with irrelevant details
• script-identifying event either first or last
• recall events
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Background on Schemas and Scripts
Identifying the Script in Advance
Demonstration 8.4—Trafimow & Wyer (1993)
(continued)
• Event recall was higher when the scriptidentifying event was presented first,
rather than last.
Events in a sequence are much more
memorable if you understand—from the very
beginning—that these events are all part of a
standard script.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Selection
Demonstration 8.5: Brewer and Treyens
(1981)
• recall objects from an office waiting room
• highly likely to recall objects consistent
with "office schema"
• "remembered" items that were not in the
room, but were consistent with "office
schema"
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Selection
Neuschatz and coauthors (2002)
• "lecture schema"
People are more likely to recall schemainconsistent material when that material is
vivid or surprising.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Selection
Davidson (1994)
• read stories describing well-known
schemas
• especially likely to recall schemainconsistent events that interrupted the
normal, expected story
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Selection
General Conclusions about Schemas and
Memory Selection
1. If the information describes a minor
event—and time is limited—people tend to
remember information accurately when it is
consistent with a schema (e.g., the desk
and the chair in the ‘‘office’’).
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Selection
General Conclusions about Schemas and
Memory Selection
2. If the information describes a minor
event—and time is limited—people do not
remember information that is inconsistent
with the schema (e.g., the wine bottle and
the picnic basket).
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Selection
General Conclusions about Schemas and
Memory Selection
3. People seldom create a completely false
memory for a lengthy event that did not
occur (e.g., the lecturer did not dance
across the room).
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Selection
General Conclusions about Schemas and
Memory Selection
4. When the information describes a major
event that is inconsistent with the standard
schema, people are likely to remember that
event (e.g., the child who crashes into
Sarah).
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Boundary Extension
Demonstration 8.6
boundary extension—our tendency to
remember having viewed a greater portion
of a scene than was actually shown
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Boundary Extension
Intraub and colleagues
• see photo then draw replica of photo
• Participants consistently produced a
sketch that extended the boundaries
beyond the view presented in the
original photo.
• activate a perceptual schema
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Boundary Extension
relevance in eyewitness testimony
situations
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
abstraction—a memory process that stores
the meaning of a message but not the
exact words
verbatim memory—word-for-word recall
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
The Constructive Approach
Bransford and Franks (1971)
• listen to sentences from several different
stories
• recognition test including new items
• People were convinced that they had seen
these new items before (false alarm).
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
The Constructive Approach
Bransford and Franks (1971) (continued)
• False alarms were particularly likely for
complex sentences consistent with the
original schema.
• False alarms were unlikely for sentences
violating the meaning of the earlier
sentences.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
The Constructive Approach
constructive model of memory—People
integrate information from individual
sentences in order to construct larger ideas;
later, they cannot untangle the constructed
information from the verbatim sentences.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
The Pragmatic Approach
pragmatic view of memory—people pay
attention to the aspect of a message that is
most relevant to their current goals
1. People know that they usually need to
accurately recall the gist of a sentence.
2. They also know that they usually do not
need to remember the specific wording of
the sentences.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
The Pragmatic Approach
3. However, in those cases where they do
need to pay attention to the specific
wording, then they know that their verbatim
memory needs to be highly accurate.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
The Pragmatic Approach
Murphy and Shapiro (1994)—Insult Study
• read letters from "Samantha" to cousin or
boyfriend
• bland vs. sarcastic comments
• recognition test on original, paraphrased, or
irrelevant sentences
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
The Pragmatic Approach
Murphy and Shapiro (1994)—Insult Study
• Correct recognition was higher for
sentences from the sarcastic condition than
for sentences in the bland condition.
• more false alarms for paraphrases of bland
sentences than sarcastic sentences
• more accurate verbatim memory for the
sarcastic version than for the bland version
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
The Current Status of Schemas and
Memory Abstraction
• two compatible approaches
• In many cases we integrate information into
large schemas.
• In some cases we know that specific words
matter and pay close attention to precise
wording.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
memory integration—background knowledge
encourages people to take in new information in
a schema-consistent fashion
People may remember schema-consistent
information, even though it was not part of the
original stimulus material.
Schemas do not always operate. Factors such as
delay before testing and task complexity
influence the use of schemas.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
The Classic Research on Memory
Integration
Bartlett (1932)
• memory as the complex interaction
between the participants' prior knowledge
and the material presented
• individual's unique interests and personal
background often shape the contents of
memory
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
The Classic Research on Memory
Integration
"The War of the Ghosts" study
Native American story read and recalled by
British students
Participants tended to
• omit material that didn't make sense
from their own viewpoint
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
The Classic Research on Memory
Integration
"The War of the Ghosts" study
Participants tended to: (continued)
• shape the story into a more familiar
framework
• borrow more heavily from their
previous knowledge as time passed
before additional recall
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
The Classic Research on Memory
Integration
Schemas can influence our inferences when
we are reading ambiguous or unclear material.
When we have the correct background
knowledge, it is generally useful.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
Research on Memory Integration Based
on Gender Stereotypes
gender stereotypes—widely shared sets of
beliefs about the characteristics of females
and males
When people know someone's gender, they
often draw conclusions about that individual's
personal characteristics.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
Research on Memory Integration Based
on Gender Stereotypes
Explicit Memory Task
Dunning and Sherman (1997)
• read sentences followed by recognitionmemory test
• "new" sentences consistent or
inconsistent with gender stereotypes
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
Research on Memory Integration Based
on Gender Stereotypes
Explicit Memory Task
Dunning and Sherman (1997) (continued)
• more likely to mistakenly "remember" a
new sentence as "old" when it was
consistent with a gender stereotype
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
Research on Memory Integration Based
on Gender Stereotypes
Implicit Memory Tasks
1. Using neuroscience techniques to assess
gender stereotypes
Osterhout, Bersick and McLaughlin (1997)
•
•
ERP technique
stereotype-consistent sentences vs.
stereotype-inconsistent sentences
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
Research on Memory Integration Based
on Gender Stereotypes
Implicit Memory Tasks
1. Using neuroscience techniques to assess
gender stereotypes
Osterhout, Bersick and McLaughlin (1997)
(continued)
•
change in ERPs for stereotype-inconsistent
words, but not for stereotype-consistent words
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
Research on Memory Integration Based
on Gender Stereotypes
Implicit Memory Tasks
2. Using the Implicit Association Test to
assess gender stereotypes
Nosek, Banaji, and Greenwald (2002)
•
Implicit Association Test (IAT)—based on the
principle that people can mentally pair two
related words together much more easily than
they can pair two unrelated words
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
Research on Memory Integration Based
on Gender Stereotypes
Implicit Memory Tasks
2. Using the Implicit Association Test to
assess gender stereotypes
Nosek, Banaji, and Greenwald (2002)
•
•
(continued)
stereotype-consistent pairings (male/math vs.
female/arts)
stereotype-inconsistent pairings (female/math
vs. male/arts)
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Schemas and Memory Integration
Research on Memory Integration Based
on Gender Stereotypes
Implicit Memory Tasks
2. Using the Implicit Association Test to
assess gender stereotypes
Nosek, Banaji, and Greenwald (2002)
•
(continued)
Participants responded significantly faster to
the stereotype-consistent parings than to the
stereotype-inconsistent pairings.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Individual Differences: Country of
Residence and Gender Stereotypes
Nosek and coauthors (2009)
• Trends in International Mathematics and
Science (TIMS)
• 8th grade females and males in 34 different
countries
• compare "male advantage" scores on TIMS
test with IAT measure of gender stereotyping
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Individual Differences: Country of
Residence and Gender Stereotypes
Nosek and coauthors (2009)
• Countries with the highest measures of
gender stereotyping were also more likely to
be the countries were males performed better
than females in both math and science.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Conclusions About Schemas
Schemas often influence our cognitive
processes:
• in the initial selection of material
• in remembering visual scenes
• in abstraction
• in the final process of integration
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Conclusions About Schemas
However:
1. We often select material for memory that
is not consistent with our schemas.
2. We may sometimes remember that we
saw only a portion of an object, rather
than the complete object.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Conclusions About Schemas
However:
3. We frequently recall the exact words of
a passage as it was originally, rather
than storing an abstract memory.
4. We may keep the elements in memory
isolated from each other, rather than
integrating these elements together.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8
Schemas and Scripts
Conclusions About Schemas
In summary, both schemas (top-down
processing) and unique features of each
stimulus (bottom-up information) influence
memory.
Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin
Chapter 8