Schema minor studies

Schema minor studies

1. Tuckey and Brewer (2003)

   • 2003
   • Participants shown three conditions of a bank robbery video
     • 1. Something that fitted scheme (male robbers with guns)
     • 2. Opposite of the schema (the robbers had no guns)
     • 3. Irrelvant to schema (the robbers wore hats)
   • Participants asked what they remembered numerous times over 12 weeks. They remembered the opposite and fitting things but not the irrelevant things
   • Shows that schemas could be benefitial to eyewitness testimony

2. Allport & Postman (1945)

   • 1945
   • Participants shown a picture of a black man in a suit and a white man wearing overalls and carrying a razor
     • Half the people falsely recalled the black man with the razor. Some even recalled him threatening the white man with it
       • Therefore a schema is commonly held that links black people to crime

3. Boon and Davis (1987)

   • 1987
   • Participants shown violent knife attack on London Underground by white man
     • Some then saw two white men fighting
       • When told to recognise the scene, some incorrectly chose the black man as the one with the knife. However recollection when asked to give a statement was much more reliable
     • Some then saw a fight between a black and white man