Effect of schema-incongruent information on memory for stereotypical attributes

In 2 studies, 250 undergraduates heard descriptions of 5 stereotypical characters, followed by additional information varying in level of relevance to, and congruence with, the initial information. Free recall of the initial information establishing the schema, which included a stereotype label and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 1984-07, Vol.47 (1), p.55-70
Main Authors: O'Sullivan, Chris S, Durso, Francis T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior. Attitude
Biological and medical sciences
Cognitive Dissonance
Cues
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Male
Memory
Mental Recall
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Retention (Psychology)
Social Perception
Social psychology
Stereotyped Attitudes
Stereotyping
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Summary:In 2 studies, 250 undergraduates heard descriptions of 5 stereotypical characters, followed by additional information varying in level of relevance to, and congruence with, the initial information. Free recall of the initial information establishing the schema, which included a stereotype label and 2 highly congruent facts, was measured. Results show that the introduction of information that was highly incongruent with the schema made schematic information more memorable, under both immediate- and delayed-recall conditions. This effect may be one mechanism by which inappropriate schemata persevere in the face of counterevidence. The pattern of results is more consistent with R. Hastie's (1980) depth-of-processing network associational model of schematic processing (with slight modification) than with D. A. Smith and A. C. Graesser's schema-pointer-plus-tag model. (38 ref)
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.47.1.55