LO : discuss schema theory with reference to research studies

Studies :
● Brewer and Treyens 1981
● Darley & Gross 1983

SCHEMA THEORY
Schema : mental representations that are derived from prior experiences and knowledge
⤷ are modified and manipulated to fit a situation

cognitive schemas
❖ Organise information with fixed slots
❖ Represent general knowledge rather than specific
❖ Help predict future events based on prior knowledge
→ when recalling, if a section is “unknown” ~ it’s filled by a ‘best guess’
⤷ this often leads to distortion of information

New information is either...

Assimilated : interpreting in terms of our existing schema (trying to make the information fit
our current schema)
Accomodated : adjusting or creating new schemas to interpret the information

BREWER & TREYENS 1981 : office study

● AIM : to investigate the role of schema in the encoding and retrieval of episodic memory
● PROCEDURE : 86 psych uni students -> students were seated in an office environment
■ Looked like a typical office environment (coffee + typewriter + papers) //
book omitted
■ Some objects weren’t typical office objects (skull, toy)
○ Each participant was asked to wait in the room with the objects (unknowingly), same
chair for each participant
○ After 35 seconds the participants were sent to another room and asked what they
remembered from the office
○ After this, they were given a question : "Did you think that you would be asked to
remember the objects in the room. 93% said "no."
■ 30 participants = written + verbal recognition
■ 29 participants = drawing recall
■ 27 participants = verbal only
● FINDINGS : when participants were asked to recall by writing a paragraph or drawing, they
were more likely to remember items that fit their schema. Incongruent items were mostly
not remembered.
○ Participants changed certain details ie. position of objects.
● CONCLUSION : schema played a role in both the encoding and recall of the objects in the
office
● EVALUATION :
 + -

• data is both qualitative and • no way to pre-determine people’s

quantitative schemas
• deception = less demand • deception
characteristics • results don’t indicate high error levels
+ doesn’t explain why some people
recalled these objects while others
didn’t

DARLEY & GROSS 1983

● AIM : to test schema processing in a social context
● PROCEDURE : participants were shown 2 identical videos
○ 1. Was of a girl playing in an impoverished environment
○ 2. Was of a girl playing in a wealthy environment
○ Participants were shown a video of the girls taking an intelligence test -> were asked
to predict the results
● FINDINGS : the majority of participants said the rich girl would do better than the poor girl
● CONCLUSION : because of the pre-existing schemas, people were able to assume the results
without knowing any other information.
○ Existing schema may influence people into thinking that since the rich girl has access
to better education, she would do better.

EVALUATE SCHEMA THEORY

testable is testable (anderson & pickerts)+ (brewer & treyens)+(bartlett)

empirical evidence some biological evidence also supports that the way that the brain
categorises information. Suggests that the brain automatically sort
information and classifies it. (not sure of the exact procedure yet)

application Applied to explain how memory works. Helps us understand

memory distortion. Used in therapy for depression and anxiety and
health campaigns

constructs validity The concept of schema is very vague, it can be measures or

observed with 1 common checklist (differs from person to person).
Not possible to observe the process of encoding and recall.

unbiased Applicable across cultures

predictive validity Predictive value to an extent. Predictswhata type of information will

be recalled. Predicts what information may be omitted (irrelevant
info). However, ST can’t predict exactly what an individual will recall
LO : explain the Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM)
LO : contrast two models of memory with reference to research
Studies :
● Miller 1956
● Cowan 2010
● Glanzer & Cunitz 1966

Atkinson & Shiffrin Multi-Store Model of Memory (1968)

Based on 2 assumptions :
1) Memory consists of separate stores
2) Memory processes are sequential
○ Permanent memory storage happens through the processes of: attention rehearsal
and encoding
○ One needs to focus on something to remember it. Rehearsal keeps active material in
the memory by repeating it unit it’s stored
■ Encoding: give the information meaning (changes it to a form that can be
stored)
Sensory memory
✦ Modality-specific - that is, related to different senses
✧ touch / taste / sight / sound / smell
✦ Information only stays here for seconds
✦ A small amount of sensory input transfers to STM

Short-term memory
✦ Limited capacity - only stores 7 items (±2)
✦ Duration of storage is 10-30 seconds
✦ Information in the STM is quickly lost if not rehearsed

Long-term memory
✦ Believed to have a potentially unlimited capacity
✦ Duration of storage is indefinite
✦ Information stored here is not an exact replica of events or facts but an outline form of
information
✦ Memories are distorted when they are retrieved because we fill in the gaps to create a
meaningful memory as predicted by schema theory
MILLER 1956 : magic number 7
 AIM to see how many numbers an individual can recall in a sequence of numbers

PROCEDURE participants were asked to memorise a string of numbers, increasing my a digit

each time…
○ 437
○ 9684
○ 25851
○ 319025…

FINDINGS participants were able to recall about 5-9 numbers at a time.

CONCLUSION this is the reason many zip codes, passport numbers, phone numbers and
security numbers are within that range

COWAN 2010 : opposing miller

AIM to see how many numbers an individual can recall in a running span of numbers

PROCEDURE participants were asked to memorise numbers from a list, they wouldn’t know
how many numbers were going to be in the list.
○ 829461029374512

FINDINGS Participants recalled a range of 3-5 digits

CONCLUSION Cowan believes that if the participants knew the quantity of number in the list
then they would apply “processing strategies” (this didn’t reflect how STM
functions on a daily basis)
VOGEL & MACHIZAWA 2004 : using fMRI found that the parietal cortex plays a
key role in STM, activity in the parietal cortex increased as the number of words
asked to remember increased until it reached 4 digits, after this, the activity
levels out

GLANZER & CUNITZ 1966 : primacy + recency

 AIM investigate the primacy and recency effect in recall

PROCEDURE repeated measures. Participant first heard a list of items, then were asked to
recall them in 1 of the 3 conditions:
○ Immediate free recall
○ 10 seconds filler activity
○ 30 seconds filler activity

FINDINGS All 3 conditions show a slightly different result.

○ Showed both the primacy and recency effect
○ Showed primacy but no recency
○ Shows primacy(less) but no recency

CONCLUSION simple evidence of STM. The first few words had more time for encoding and
movement to LTM. Last few words still held in the STM store actively
● The control group were able to show both
● The experimental groups lost the recency effect because there
was in interference while the recent words were still in STM

Craik & Lockart LEVELS OF PROCESSING (1972)

⤷ is an alternative to MSM which does not account for ‘depth in processing’

Shallow processing : encoding information on the basic auditory or visual levels, based on the sound,
structure or appearance of a word
Deep processing : encodes semantically, based on actual meaning associated with the word.

→ connects with the idea of neuroplasticity, stronger dendrites and neuronal pathways as the
information becomes stronger
Why do we remember what we remember?

Primacy effect First few pieces of information - usually

remembered as they are rehearsed more (move
from STM to LTM

Recency effect Last few pieces of information - usually

remembered as they are still active memories
in STM

Distinctiveness Information that stands out from the rest, it

unusual or unfamiliar - usually is more
remembered than like or ordinary info

Frequency effect Rehearsal leads to better memory results - the

more something is repeated - increased
chances of remembering

Associations Categorising or attaching new information to

previous information - helps making
connections when remembering - assimilation

Reconstructions Fill in the blanks in our memory - generate

missing information (assimilation)

LO : explain the Working Memory Model (WMM)

LO : contrast two models of memory wit reference to research

Studies :
● Baddeley & Hitch 1974

Baddeley & Hitch Working Memory Model (1974)

⤷ challenged the idea of STM being a single-store

CENTRAL EXECUTIVE
● Controlling system the monitors and coordinates the operations of other components which
are called slave systems
● Vital role: Attention control (happens in 2 ways)
1) Automotive level : based on habit and controlled more or less automatically by stimuli from
the environment
ie. (everyday habits)
2) Supervisory attentional level : creates new strategies as needed or deals with emergencies
ie. (navigating new places)

slave system function

Visuospatial sketchpad ● Inner eye

● Deals with visual and spatial
information from either sensory
memory of LTM

Episodic buffer ● Responsible for linking information

across systems - visual / spacial / verbal
with a time sequence

Phonological loop 1) Articulatory Control System

“Inner voice” where you silently repeat words
heard / seen
2) Phonological Store
“Inner ear” where all speech-based information
is held

BADDELEY & HITCH 1974 : dual task study

 AIM Test multitasking with different slave systems (visuospatial, phonological loop)

PROCEDURE Participants were asked to give written answers to questions with increasing
difficulties. Questions were about simple letter combinations which were
shown visually while at the same time we’re asked to do an articulatory
suppression task.
○ Repeating the word “the”
○ Repeating “1-6”
○ Repeating random numbers

FINDINGS Accuracy was fairly consistent throughout across conditions. However, the
reaction time differed
○ No significant difference between “the” & “1-6”
○ Worst reaction time was the group repeating random numbers

CONCLUSION Random numbers had the worst reaction time because the central executive
was overloaded - it is possible to multi-task however it affects efficiency.
This is proof of the working memory model as it shows how slave systems work

MSM WMM

Assumes that processes are sequential and Provides a better explanation of storage +
oversimplified processing than the MSM

Doesn’t account for depth of processing Explains why people are able to multitask

More historical significance

Explains primacy + recency

**neither of these models explains memory distortion

Long-Term Memory
 Explicit / Declarative memories : 2 systems of memory that are consciously retrieved
↳ semantic memories : facts or knowledge
↳ episodic memories : formed from personal experiences and events

Implicit / Non-declarative memories : 2 systems of memory that are unconsciously retrieved

↳ procedural memories : habits / skills (doing everyday basic things)
↳ emotional memories : automatic feelings

Making connections : the brain and memory

● Hippocampus affects memory
● Many cases shows hippocampal damage leads to problems with encoding and retrieving new
explicit memory however patients are able to still form new implicit memories (HM)
● Amygdala plays a role in emotional memory
○ This could be the reason why people suffer from PTSD (+ have problems forgetting)
○ “Fight-or-flight” can be activated in response to a present threat or when we
remember a past threat
LO : explain the use of one research method used in investigation a cognitive process (memory)
Studies :
● Antonova 2011
● Sharot
●
method what + -

PET (Positron Emission ⋅monitors glucose + records ongoing - data needs to be

Tomography) metabolism in the brain activity ie. interpreted
(patients are injected with thinking - Artefacts
harmless radioactive
glucose)
⋅ Diagnoses tumours,
Alzheimers etc.

MRI ⋅ creates a composite image - data needs to be

of the structure of the brain interpreted
⋅ uses H2O (hydrogen - Artefacts
protons) picked up by the
magnetic field of the
scanner

fMRI ⋅ 3D pictures of the brain + high resolution - data needs to be

⋅ shows brain activity + + shows activity interpreted
indicates which area(s) is + most frequently - Artefacts
active when engaged in a used
behaviour

ANTONOVA 2011 : acetylcholine & memory (fMRI)

AIM test the effect of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine on spatial memory

PROCEDURE Participants were injected with either condition and put into an fMRI while
playing a VR game. Researchers were observing how well the participants were
able to create spatial memories. Once the participants found the pole in the
game, the screen blanked out for 30 seconds and the players actively recited
the location. 30 seconds later, the game started again but the participants were
in a new location, they had to use their spatial memory in order to find their
way to the pole again.
○ Scopolamine (antagonist)
○ Placebo
● The researchers measured the participant’s brain activity during the 6
trials.
○ 4 weeks after the study the participants were in the study again
but in the opposite condition.
 FINDINGS being injected with the antagonist lead to a reduction in activity near the
hippocampus. Concluded that acetylcholine plays a role in the encoding for
spacial memory

CONCLUSION

SHAROT 2007 : flashbulb memory + biology

AIM to determine the potential role of biological factors on flashbulb memory

PROCEDURE quasi-experiment conducted 3 years after 9/11 attack, 24 participants in NYC.

Participants were placed in an fMRI, while in the machine they were shown
word cues (normal everyday words like sleep, work, phone, walk etc.) + these
important words...
○ Summer (link memories with summer holidays)(baseline)
○ September (link memories with 9/11 attack)
■ Brain activity was observed the whole time
After brain scanning, participants had to rate their memories for vividness,
detail, confidence in accuracy and arousal - then asked to write recount of 9/11

FINDINGS ● ½ participants reported a FBM (these participants were closer to the

place of the attack) - they also included more detail in their recounts
○ people closer to the attack showed more activity in the
amygdala when remembering the 9/11 event than the summer
holidays
○ People further away showed about the same amount of activity
in both situations.

CONCLUSION Positive correlation between amygdala activation at retrieval and flashbulb

memories was established
LO : evaluate a model of thinking or decision making

Studies :
● Wason
● Goel

Verbal protocols: interviews used by cognitive psychologists with the goal of trying to make internal
thought processes public
→ thinking out loud as one carries out a task

+ -

• Method gives us access to complex internal
thought processes that would otherwise be
unavailable
• when thinking aloud - people may not say
everything they think
• Hard to express or we can be reluctant to
express it
• relies on participants who are articulate

● articulate : people who are able to express thoughts easily

✦THINKING✦

● analyse : break information down into smaller pries to look at closely

● synthesise : bring different prices of information together
● categorisation : organise certain pieces of info into categories
→ we do this to reach conclusions through evaluation or even to make predictions

✦dual process model ✦

⤷ STANOVICH & WEST 2000
⤷ model of thinking and decision making a hypothesis that there are 2 basic models of
thinking

✧system 1✧
⌀ automatic / intuitive way of thinking
⌀ uses heuristics / rules to make decisions
→ heuristic : mental shortcuts that involve focusing on one aspect of a complex
problem and ignoring others ”
⌀ fast mode + prone to errors
⌀ errors may have greater consequences
→ thinking is used when our cognitive load is high or when it’s necessary to process information and
make decisions quickly.
✧system 2✧
⌀ RATIONAL THINKING
⌀ slower / rational mode of thinking - requiring more effort
⌀ starts by thinking carefully about all of the possible options and ways to interpret a situation
⌀ eliminate options that seem irrational
⌀ rational thinking allows us to analyse things around us → thinking about the consequences of
actions
→ thinking is less likely to create a feeling of certitude and confidence

system 1 system 2

context-dependent : uses existing evidence and independent of context : can be abstract

ignores the unknown

everyday decisions making conscious reasoning

generates first impression slow and requiring effort

not logic-based and prone to error logical / reliable / less prone to error

operates automatically and quickly with little or due to effort, transfer of information from one
no effort situation to another is possible

WASON 1968 : selection task study

AIM To investigate the role of intuitive thinking and
rational thinking in decision making

PROCEDURE Pps were shown a set of cards & asked what

cards must be turned over to test that "If X
occurs, then Y does".

e.g "Which card(s) must be turned over to test

the idea that if a card shows an even number
on one face, then its opposite face is red?"

FINDINGS - Most of the pps typically selected cards

incorrectly based on matching bias.
- Pps were often unable to explain their choices.
- The pps made the same mistakes throughout
the experiment.

CONCLUSION

LO : explain the effect influence of cultural factors in cognitive processing (memory)

studies :
● Cole and Scribner
● Kearins

COLE AND SCRIBNER 1974 :

AIM • to investigate the different memory strategies used by american and liberian
children

PROCEDURE • children were asked to remember words on a list that were organised into
different categories - they had to remember the list in order… the lists were
culture sensitive

FINDINGS • Kpelle children who attended school had similar performances to the US
schooled children - they used categorical recall, as the number of trials
increased, so did the number of words recalled

CONCLUSION • When the items were presented in a story - the non school kpelle children
were equally as good - when presented in list form, the illiterate kpelle
children were only able to remember 10 words and as the number of trials
increases, the number of words increased didn’t increase significantly

KEARINS 1981 :
AIM • to find out whether the performance on a memory test would differ
between Aborigines and white Australians. (to see the effects of culture on
memory)

PROCEDURE • 4*5 square with 20 grids - 4 different tasks

● Artificial different : man-made objects - familiar to white kids
● Natural different : 20 naturally occurring objects - familiar to desert
children
● Artificial same : bottles of different shapes and sizes
● Natural same : rocks of different sizes and shapes

FINDINGS • indigenous kids children did much better on the test than the white kids

CONCLUSION • It was believed this was because the indigenous kids’ skills allowed them to
visually encode information better.
LO : to what extent is memory reliable
studies :
● Bartlett
● Loftus and Palmer

Reliability if cognitive processes:

➔ Reconstruction in memory
➔ Biases in thinking and decision-making

Frederic Bartlett (1932) : RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY THEORY

● Argued memory is reconstructive
● We use schemas to recall memories
● Culture and past experiences build and influence our schemas.

● Assimilation : familiarising with the information in order to fit the existing schema.
● Sharpening : re-arranging events or adding information in order to make more sense of the
situation
● Simplifying : leaving out unnecessary information as it will not fit the schema

Serial reproduction:
● Method used by Bartlett to test the reliability in memory
○ One person reproduced an original story, the second reproduced the reproduction…
● Process meant to replicate the process by which rumours are spread or legends are passed
down through generations
BARTLETT 1932 : war of ghosts
AIM test recall (effect of schema) using reproduction

PROCEDURE British participants were told a native american legend

● Split into 2 conditions:
○ Repeated reproduction (participants reproduced the story days,
weeks, months, year later)
○ Serial reproduction (participants retold the story to others)
story was unusual for the british people because it contained unfamiliar
supernatural concepts and had a different structure of writing

FINDINGS Participants in both conditions distorted the story

● Story remained coherent no matter how distorted it became from the
original (sharpening)
● Story became shorter (simplifying)
● Became more conventional (assimilated to the participants’ schema)

CONCLUSION People reconstruct memories by trying to fit them into existing schemas - the
most complicated the story, the more likely parts are forgotten or distorted
Schema affect us during encoding and retrieval
 strengths limitations

- no control group to see if other cultures would

remember the story different ie. have a native
american group recall the story
- quasi-experiment
-no cause and effect was established
- low internal validity // lack of control
conditions

LOFTUS & PALMER 1974 : reconstruction of an auto accident

AIM see if language used in prompting eyewitness testimony can alter memory

PROCEDURE 45 american students were used as part of an opportunity sample

● They were shown films of traffic accidents in a random order
● Each participant experienced one of the 5 possible conditions (leading
language in the question)
● After watching the films, participants were asked to describe what
happened as if they were eyewitnesses
● They were asked a specific question about how fast the cars were going
when they (smashed/collided/bumped/hit/contacted) each other

FINDINGS Estimated speed was affected by the verb used in the researcher’s question

CONCLUSION 2 possibilities:
1) Response-bias: participants response was influenced by language but
may not have a false memory
2) False memory: memory representation was distorted (changes)

LO : to what extent does emotion influence memory

studies :
● Tali Sharot

FLASHBULB MEMORY THEORY (Brown and Kulik 1977)

➔ Special kind of memory associated with high emotions and detailed recall of events
➔ May be recorded in the brain like a photo (flash)
◆ photos are accurate 0 there is no room for error
➔ Special neural mechanisms used because of emotions arousal - because the event was
unexpected or extremely important
◆ emotional memories are better remembered
➔ We use other parts of the brian such as the amygdala to encode emotional memories which
are both implicit and long term memories

TALI SHAROT 2007 : 9/11 Flashbulb memory

AIM test the occurrence of flashbulb memory (to prove fb memories are different,
they look at the brain structures used compared to LTM

PROCEDURE Participants were 24 witnesses of the 9/11 incident (different locations in

MAnhattan)
Participants were placed in an fMRI machine and aksed to recall events
Participants were also asked to recall their summer holiday (for control
purposes)

FINDINGS People closer to the event (World Trade Center) had a more in-depth recall of
the event
When compared to participants summer holiday, the level of detail given for
9/11 incident was higher
Parahippocampal gyrus (responsible for LTM retrieval) was relatively inactive
when recalling memories from 9/11 when compared to recalling events from
their summer holiday (LTM memory)
Amygdala (responsible for processing memory of emotional reaction) was more
active when recalling memories from 9/11

CONCLUSION Different parts of the brain were used for FB memory retrieval and general LTM
retrieval

Supports FB memory theory as a different types of memory than LTM

→ study is correlational - doesn’t establish cause and effect relationship

→ task performed is artificial
→ small sample size
→ low demand characteristics

FLASHBULB MEMORY
 strengths limitat ions

Explains why emotional memories are more FBM theory refers to flashbulb photography but
vividly remembered over time (amygdala) name is not well-chosen → our memory does
not work like this

Many research studies which have helped to Flashbulb memory is reconstructive like all
understand that flashbulb memory events carry memory, particularly if it is discussed with other
personal significance people overtime (confabulation) → theory does
not address this

LO : explain one bias in thinking & decision-making

LO : discuss two biases in thinking & decision-making

studies :
● Strack & Missweiler

HEURISTICS : helpful and time-saving // they act as mental shortcuts

→ they are associated with system 1 thinking
2 types of heuristics:
1) Availability: something that comes to mind
2) Representative: something that means something to you (a generalisation that is
applied)

Heuristics are based on:

● Using limited amounts of information: anchoring bias or the framing effect
● Seeking out information that confirms pre-existing beliefs: confirmation bias
● Avoiding the mental stress holding inconsistent cognitions/beliefs: cognitive dissonance

STRACK & MUSSWEILER 1997: anchoring bias

AIM study the effect anchoring has on decision making

PROCEDURE 69 german undergrad students were asked a question about Gandhi with
implausible anchors
1) “Did Gandhi die before or after the age of 9?” (Lower anchor)
2) “Did Gandhi die before or after the age of 140?” (Higher anchor)

FINDINGS Lower anchor : 50.1

Higher anchor : 66.7

CONCLUSION The anchor clearly influenced the final value offered. Faced with an unknown,
participants were ‘anchored’ by the most recent, seemingly relevant
information. It is interesting to note that the low anchor (9) appears to have
been more influential than the high anchor (140). This could reflect the belief
that the high anchor is in fact impossible, rather than implausible.
LO : discuss the effect of emotion on thinking and decision-making
studies :
● Bechara

Damasio:
● Patients making bad decisions suffered bilateral damage (to both hemispheres of the brain)
in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)

Somatic Marker Hypothesis (Damasio 94)

● Strangely, when their decision making was tested in a lab environment there did not seem to
be any problem; ther intellect and memory capacity seems unaffected by the damage to
their brains
● Damasio hypothesised that damage to the vmPFC somehow caused patients to lose the
connection between emotional information + decision making
● The vmPFC seems to be involved with somatic markers of emotion associated with thought
and memory
* Somatic markers are physical sensation which goes along with an emotion e.g anxiety + rapid
heartbeat

BECHARA 1999 : iowa gambling task

AIM to study the role of vmPFC on decision making

PROCEDURE 13 healthy participants & 5 with damaged vmPFC

● Participants saw for decks of cards (labelled ABCD) on a computer
screen
● Every time a player clicked on a deck the face card showed how much
money he/she won or lost
● A conductive skin test was given to measure emotional (somatic)
response
● Decks were not random, *decks A and B would offer high yield at first
then larger and larger losses
● Decks C and D would offer small rewards and small losses consistently
(better choice for participants)

FINDINGS Healthy participants: quickly learned from their experiences and avoided decks
A / B opting for decks C / D
Damaged participants : didn’t learn from their prior experiences and continued
to select decks A/B

● Healthy participants developed an anticipatory ‘Skin Conductive

Response’ such as sweaty palms when choosing A/B (higher risk choice)
● Damaged participants had a lower SCR reaction with no clear
differences between conditions (decks A/Bor C/D)