Schema

“Schemas are cognitive structured (mental templates or frames) that represent a person’s knowledge about objects, people or situations.” Schema theory states that what we already know will influence the outcome of information processing, since it can affect our cognitive processes. Because schema is usually beside on our stored information, it can both help and hinder the accurate recall of memory. From Bartlett, 1932, we get an idea that cultural schema influences our memory. All of participants recall the story in various ways which can make it more conventional and acceptable on their own cultural perspective. For example, the word “canoe” is often substituted for “boat”. Another experiment from French and Richards (1993) proves that how stored information hinder participants’ memory. How do we get this solution? Participants who are required to draw the clock by memory usually draw the number four represented as "IIII" instead of "IV", because they use their stored knowledge.