Introduction

Memory is an important cognitive process whereby we encode, store and retrieve (recall)
the events of our lives and, in education, the content and context of our learning.
Therefore, ways of improving memory are of interest to cognitive psychologists.

One way of improving memory looks at how we initially process information that is
e e ed C aik a d L ckha e e f ce i g he a de e ed
from previous studies showing that deeper processing of data, such as word lists, leads to
an improvement in recall. It acts as a critique of the earlier multi-store memory model,
which views sensory, short-term and long-term memory as different stores, rather than
different levels (1972, p. 671-684)

One study that seemed to confirm that memory operates at different levels was conducted
by Hyde and Jenkins (1969). They showed that words processed structurally (by physical
properties) were less well recalled than those processed semantically, by meaning. This
contradicts the earlier multi-store memory theory that data passes from short-term to long-
term memory by rehearsal, suggesting instead that it is transferred through understanding.

Hyde and Jenkins (1969, p. 472-481) conducted three experiments into the effects of levels
of processing on recall. In each they had several different groups of participants: a control
group that was just asked to recall the words; a group asked to count the number of letters
as each word was read out (structural processing); a group asked to decide whether there
a a E i he d ctural); a group asked to decide whether each word was pleasant
or unpleasant. The experimental groups were also sub-divided into those informed they
were going to have to recall the words, and those who were not. The researchers found
that the best recall was in those asked to decide if the words that they were presented with
were pleasant or unpleasant. The next best functioning was the control group, and the
a e e be i g e e he c a g C i g he e e decidi g if he e
was an E i he d ac a i e fe ed i h e a d b e e eca Hyde and
Jenkins concluded that an awareness that one would be asked to remember the words
made little difference, but semantic processing of words significantly improved recall.

Our experiment is a simplification of H de a d Je ki E e i e -476),

with two independent groups of participants, one processing a written word list
semantically, by choosing whether each word is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, and one
processing the same list structurally, by counting how many letters there are in each word.

Aim: To determine whether semantic processing results in more words being recalled from
a 20-word list than does structural processing. This is relevant to knowing how to improve
memory.

Research Hypothesis (one-tailed): Significantly more words will be remembered from a

written 20-word list when the words are processed semantically, by deciding whether each

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 is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, than will be remembered from the same list when the
words are processed structurally, by counting how many letters each word contains.

Null Hypothesis: Any increase in recalled words from the written 20-word list by those
processing the words semantically (by deciding whether each is pleasant, unpleasant or
neutral) will be down to chance and will not be significant when compared with the number
of words remembered from the same list when the words are processed structurally, by
counting how many letters each contains.

IV: Manner of processing each word, either semantically, by deciding whether each is
pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, or structurally, by counting how many letters each word
contains.

DV: Number of words remembered from the 20-word list, under each condition.

4/6, theory could be described in moreExploration

detail, relevance of aim is somehow part of
introduction, but should be connected clearly to the aim
Design
An independent samples design was chosen, with the participants randomly allocated to
two groups, by a random number allocator. This design was to avoid order effects: as the
lists of words were identical, participants would have quickly guessed the point of the
experiment, as they would have already seen the words under the first condition. Even
though the independent samples design can result in participant variability, the language
level and age of the students should mitigate this.

Participants were chosen by opportunity sampling, as this was easy and convenient
because students with an interest in participating were available at school. They were
randomly allocated to Group A (semantic processing) and Group B (structural processing).
Our sampling resulted in 20 male and female IB Diploma student participants, aged 16-18
years old, ethnically mixed and with English as their first language. The age allowed them to
sign their own form, and their facility in English controlled the variable of language. None of
the participants had studied or were studying psychology.

Controlled variables were the words on the list, the classroom location, the size and type of
font (Calibri 14 pt) and the time given for memorizing and recall. These were standardised
between the two conditions to minimise the chance of these becoming confounding
variables.

Participants read and signed the informed consent form (Appendix A) and received
standardized instructions and a debriefing informing them of their rights (Appendices B and
C).

Materials

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2/6
Aim is stated, relevance not clearly explained
IV and DV stated, but not fully operationalized
Theory description contains errors
5/6
I. Theory is described well but the link to
the student’s investigation could be made
clearer. Aim is stated and the relevance is
referenced but could be explained more
fully. IV and DV are not operationalized in
the hypotheses, but are in the paragraph
preceding the hypotheses, which is acceptable
INTRODUCTION
This investigation focuses on the tendency of the human mind to categorize information into
schemas. This conce i i o al in oda ocie a eo le a e a ing o b ing a en ion o
many controversial schema-connected social prejudices, accompanied by the conformation bias
f e en l a ea ing in diffe en ocial b bble 1
The schema theory proposed by Frederic Bartlett in 1932 suggests that human memory is
affected by prior knowledge and expectations, which manifest themselves into cognitive
frameworks that our minds develop to help cluster related pieces of information2. Be le
ideas were linked to the concept of memory consolidation and the effect that cultural norms
and expectations have on the retrieval of information. His experiment shed light on the
influences that cognitive frameworks have on information processing and memory storage. 3
Later, in 1982, Cohen et. al. conducted an experiment with the aim to more realistically assess
social schemata associated with different professions and their effect on and information recall.
96 undergraduate participants were shown a video of a woman, which was said to be a waitress
to one group and a librarian to the other. This video contained 9 schema consistent and 9
schema inconsistent pieces of information. Subjects were then asked to describe the woman
using a 37-item trait questionnaire after different time periods. The results revealed that the
participants were 10% more likely to remember schema related information than schema
unrelated, suggesting social schemas may indeed effect information processing and memory
formation. 4
This study, along with its replications brings insight into the complex cognitive system of
information, knowledge, and memory organisation in our brains. This brought up the question
of A e o he ofe ion al o accom anied b a cl e of ela ed information, that would
influence their perception According to the theory, the function of schemata is to save
cognitive capacity by generalizing and making sense of new information and facilitating our
processing and comprehension. This means that schemas about most careers might exist.
Hence, we chose to replicate the experiment, with the alteration of assessing schemata people
may have about chefs by comparing groups where chef schema is activated and where it is not.
Therefore, this investigation has a unique text stimulus.
The aim of this experiment is to investigate the effect of the chef social schema (stereotype)
activation on written recollection of information presented in a short story in a population of
17 18-year-old students.

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Tuckey, M. R., & Brewer, N. (2003). The influence of schemas, stimulus ambiguity, and interview schedule on eyewitness memory
over time. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 9(2), 101 118. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-898X.9.2.101
2
Tra is Di on (2017) Schema heor : An in rod c ion. IB Ps cholog : A S den s G ide. 169-171. Thematic education.
3
Brady Wagoner (2015) Qualitative Experiments in Psychology: The Case of Frederic Bartlett's Methodology. Forum quantitative
Sozialforschung. Volume 16, No. 3. https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/2367/3870
4 Claudia E. Cohen (1981) Person Categories and Social Perception: Testing Some Boundaries of the Processing Effects of Prior
Knowledge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 40, No. 3, 441-452, American Psychological Association

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 The relevance of this study lies in getting deeper understanding of social schemata and how
they can influence our confirmation bias. That is the bias of mainly focusing on and recalling
information consistent with one s schema, hence even strengthening one s opinions about
some social groups, leading to social prejudice. Stereotypes may thus lead to discrimination and
racism, which are well-discussed topic these days. Hence, this research could help understand
why these phenomena exist.
- Independent variable: Social schema activation (operationalized by stating that the
protagonist of a short story is a chef before letting the participants listen to an audio
recording of the story)
- Dependent variable: Number of schema consistent information recalled
(operationalized by counting the number of chef schema consistent information
recalled in a text written by the participants)
- Theoretical prediction: Social schema activation may improve the recollection of
schema consistent information compared to a no schema activation

o Research hypothesis (one-tailed): The presence of an occupational schema in the form of

the phrase Sarah is a chef increases the number of schema consistent information
recalled in a written text rephrasing a short story about Sarah immediately after hearing
an audio recording of it
o Null hypothesis: The presence of an occupational schema in the form of the phrase
Sarah is a chef has no effect on the number of schema consistent information recalled
in a written text rephrasing a short story about Sarah immediately after hearing an audio
recording of it

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Hypotheses are not correctly stated as there is no comparison with other group, also target
population in the hypothesis is not stated in the hypotheses („population of high school
students“), but otherwise all criteria met to satisfactory extent