Schema Theory Study

Abstract
For the internal assessment in psychology we decided to replicate a schema theory study conducted by Brewer and Treyens (1981). The aim of their experiment was to determine whether a stereotypical schema of an office would affect memory of the office. In our replication we used the principal’s office in which we let the participants wait for 45 second, after which we asked them to recall as many objects as they can remember. In one condition the room was left as it was, and in the second condition non-belonging objects (Stuffed penguin, toy giraffe, metal mouse, yoga ball, and helicopter toy) were placed in the office. 2 trials were conducted for each condition. ?????????????????????/
Introduction
The concept of schema was introduced by British psychologist Frederic Bartlett. Schema is a mental representation of knowledge. Schema theory states that all information we encode is stored in units. Those units are called schemata. For example a group of information is connected with one another and by remembering one of them it is possible to remember all the information connected to it. Schema theory is a cognitive function that helps in the process of memory. Schema helps us encode, retrieve, and process information faster thru

The aim of the study was to investigate if schema processing influences both encoding and retrieval. Participants were told a story of two boys who lived in a house and the house they lived in. The house has been previously rated from the perspectives of house buyers and burglars. Half of the participants were asked to read the story from burglar’s perspective and the other half from house buyer’s perspective. After a short delay half of the participant were given the others group schema. After that participants were asked to recall the schemas. Participants who read the other groups schema recalled more information in the second trial than the other