INTRODUCTION TO CLOA

Read about the history of cognitive psych – green book pg. 66-68

In blue text, read about the principles of CLOA on pages 67-70. Define the bold words on page 67 and 68 only. You should start a separate glossary somewhere in your notes for this LOA.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES

SLO 1 – EVALUATE SCHEMA THEORY

‘Evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies’

Schema Theory:What is it?

Rumelhart and Norman (1983) described how schemas: Represent both simple and complex

knowledge Link together to form larger systems of

related schemas Have slots with fixed values, optional

values and default values Acquire their content through personal

experience or taught beliefs/stereotypes Operate as active recognition devices

Schemas are mental plans for action. They serve as frameworks through

which to view the worldDavid

Rumelhart

Schema of a Picnic

• Enables us to store the central meaning or gist of new info without those pesky details

• Saves memory resources

• Schemas help us understand new info more readily and fill in or guess the rest• Makes the world more coherent and

predictable

Disadvantages of Schema Theory

• Doesn’t explain how the info that does not quite fit our schemas, esp the minor details, may be ignored or forgotten or distorted so as to make better sense to us

• Does not explain why the guesses/filling-in of memory by default values may be completely inaccurate

• Does not explain how we can experience inaccurate, stereotyped and prejudiced remembering

APPLICATION:Evidence for Schemas in the RECONSTRUCTING of

MEMORY• Bartlett (1932) – see OneNote and Green

text pg. 71

Brewer and Treyens (1981)

Key Studies

Anderson & Pichert (1978)

Loftus & Palmer (1932)

KEY TERMS to define (use texts and OneNote)

• Schema theory• Cognitive Schema (also, self-schema

and social-schema)• Scripts• Distortions• Encoding• Storage• Retrieval• Fixed values, optional values, default

values• Active recognition devices• Distinctiveness effect