Effects of Schemata on Both Encoding and Retrieval of Information From Prose

The reported studies provide a direct test of whether an activated schema can influence both the initial encoding and the subsequent retrieval of information from prose. One hundred twenty-seven undergraduates either read (Experiment 1) or listened to (Experiment 2) slightly modified versions of Pichert and Anderson's home-buyer/burglar passage. Subjects in both experiments received a perspective at the time of encoding, received a perspective at the time of testing, or did not receive a perspective. Subjects were further subdivided in terms of the type of test that they received: One-half of the subjects provided a replication of previous research in that they were instructed to recall everything they could remember; the other subjects took a Sentence Verification Technique test on the passage. Results of the two experiments supported the conclusion that schema activation exerts an influence on retrieval processes but not on encoding processes.