Outline Schema Theory

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Schema theory is a theory of knowledge organization, which states that the way we process information at any particular moment, or the way we act in specific settings, is determined to a very significant extent by relevant previous knowledge stored in our memory and organized in the form of schemas. A schema is a cognitive structure that provides a framework for organizing information about the world, events, people, and actions. According to theorists like Bartlett, Rumelhart, and Schank and Abelson, schemas perform many interrelated functions. They organize information in to our memory, increase the information-processing efficiency, and allow us to predict behaviors of others. They can also lead to distortions and mistakes in unfamiliar settings or when a wrong schema is activated. Schemas can also lead to distortions and mistakes when settings are unfamiliar or the wrong schemas become activated. There are three types of schemas, script, self-schemas, and social schemas. Scripts are schemas, which provide information about the sequence of events occur in a more-or-less unchanging order in particular contexts. Self-schemas organize information we have about ourselves. Social schemas represent information about groups of people. Bartlett’s study established the effect of schemas on memory. He asked his English participants to read a Native American folk tale and the participants’ memory was tested by two techniques, serial reproduction and repeated reproduction. In serial reproduction, after the first participant, the following participants had to read the reproduced story by the previous participant. In repeated reproduction, the same participant contributed all six or seven reproductions separated by intervals of from 15 minutes to as long as several years, from reading the original story. As a result, the reproductions became much shorter and the distortions

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