Schema theory: implications for text comprehension

The origin of modern schema theory is usually identified in the work of psychologist Barlett ([1932] 1995). In his empirical investigation, he argues that comprehension is shaped by the expectations formed on the basis of prior knowledge. According to Semino (1995:82), Barlett’s schema theory has been neglected in the study of cognitive processes for forty years. It was in the early 70s that schema theory developed in interdisciplinary studies. Its range of application includes a wide variety of areas, as well as discourse comprehension (van Dijk and Kintsch, 1983; van Dijk, 1990), narrative comprehension (Thorndyke, 1977; Rumelhart, 1975; Mandler and Johnson, 1977; Emmott, 1997), cognitive stylistics (Stockwell, 2002; Semino, 1995; Cook, 1994; Walsh, 2007) and film comprehension (Bordwell, 1985, 1989; Biocca, 1991; Giora and Ne’eman, 1996; and Branigan, 1992).

The adaption of schematic models of comprehension in Cognitive Psychology, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Linguistics has led to a proliferation of terms for these cognitive building blocks. Other related terms such as frame and script are used to refer to particular types of schemas. Frame describes knowledge related to visual

perception, for example, background knowledge about different kinds of restaurant (Minsky, 1975; Fillmore, 1985), while script refers to knowledge about sequences of related actions which we encounter frequently, such as going to the pub or a restaurant (Schank and Abelson, 1977). However, despite the proliferation of terms referring to such prior knowledge structures, schema has continued to be used as a catch-all term, particularly in Cognitive Psychology and is accepted as the most general label for knowledge structures (Cook, 1994; Eysenck and Kean, 1990). Following studies in cognitive stylistics (Cook, 1994; Semino, 1995; Cockcroft, 2002; Walsh, 2007; Giora,. 1996; Stockwell, 2002; Gladsky, 1992; Muske, 1990; Culpeper, 2001, 2009), the present research understands and uses schema as a blanket term which involves and fulfils the definition and application of the other prior knowledge-related terms mentioned above.

As briefly discussed in 1.4, a schema is a cognitively structured cluster of concepts that involves our generic knowledge about concepts, objects, situations, events, actions and their sequences (Rumelhart, 1980; Hastie, 1981; Brewer and Nakamura, 1984; Fiske and Taylor, 1991; Eysenck and Keane, 1990). Jeffries and McIntyre (2010) note that schemas also encompass linguistic behaviour in different situations, such as job interviews (p. 128). A schema also contains ‘the network of interrelations among constituents of concepts and categories’ (Rumelhart, 1980:34). Schemas are assumed to be abstracted from or induced by experience (Rumelhart, 1980:40; Emmott, 1995:23) in the sense that individuals may not be able to remember the original incidents that caused them to form a specific schema within their cognitive processes. The structure of schematic knowledge is dynamic and experientially developing1 (Rumelhurt and Norman, 1981; Rumelhurt, 1984; Stockwell, 2002; Cook, 1994; Culpeper, 2001) in that it is continually adjusted to match new experiences and incoming information (Barlett, 1932:201; Neisser, 1976:54; Walsh, 2007). Thus, as Walsh (2007:95) points out, a ‘visit to different kinds of restaurant, such as a self- service café or a sushi bar, will require modifications to one’s existing restaurant schema’.

Text comprehension depends on the activation of relevant schemas. As Rumelhart (1980:47) points out, the process of understanding discourse is the process of

1 _{The dynamic nature of schematic knowledge and the way in which it is continually adjusted to match}

new incoming information is taken up by Stockwell (2009) and Cook (1994) in their account of discourse deviation.

‘selection and instantiation of schema or a configuration of schemas that successfully account for the text concept in question’.

The rationale behind the application of schema theory to literary and film text is that schema theory provides a dynamic framework to investigate the interplay between reader’s/viewer’s general knowledge and text. Stockwell (2002:78) points out that the bundle of information and features at every level of linguistic organization, from the meaning of individual words to the reading of entire texts, can be explained through schemas: ‘every literary genre, fictional episode, imagined character in narrated situations can all be understood as part of schematised knowledge negotiation’. Similarly, Bordwell (1992) provides the following example to show how the process of understanding film is more likely to draw upon ordinary, informal reasoning procedures: You are driving down the highway. You spot a car with a flat tire; a man just opening the car’s trunk. Wholly without conscious deliberation, you expect that he is the driver and that he will draw out a tool or a spare tire or both. If we imagine filming the very same activity, we need to draw on our knowledge about ‘driver changing flat tire’ to understand such a scene. 1

An important thread in studies on applying schema theories to literature and film is the claim that such texts tend to challenge and modify the reader’s/viewer’s existing schemas. This is consistent with the Russian Formalists’ (mainly Roman Jakobson’s) concept of ‘literariness’ (applied to literary works including film), in which the main common characteristic of texts is their ability to disrupt the ordinary application of schemas and their potential for causing schematic knowledge change (de Beaugrande, 1987; Cook, 1994; Semino, 1995; Stockwell, 2002; Semino, 1997). Formalists’ foregrounding or intentional divergence (deviance) from what usually happens is one of the stylistic devices through which reader’s/viewer’s general knowledge may be disrupted on different levels (Leech, 1985; Van Peer, 1986; Cook, 1994). Foregrounding takes place as a result of breaking norms or patterns such as linguistic, generic, and text-internal norms. Deviation occurs when the expectations that readers/viewers form – on the basis of their schematic knowledge – are disrupted. For example, we can discuss schema disruption in relation to viewers’ schematic knowledge of genre, as certain films deviate from generic norms and can hardly be categorised

1 _{This does not mean that only real-world knowledge is relevant to understanding film. As is argued in}

2.7, there are other types of schematic knowledge, such as viewers’ knowledge about film style and techniques which gives way to film comprehension.

within any known genres. Such films usually combine different characteristics of various genres, such as western, melodrama and musical, into a new context. Understanding such films, in terms of generic knowledge which constitutes viewers’ expectations about film events and character is challenging, as they can hardly instantiate their generic schema with the textual cues (see section 2.7.3 and 2.7.4 for discussion of genre schema disruption).

Schematic disruption as a result of textual deviance poses a challenge to the readers’/viewers’ existing knowledge and results in ‘schema refreshment’ (Semino, 2001). Semino (2001) redefines the notion of schema refreshment to include not only schema change, but also less dramatic and less permanent experiences such as connecting normally separate schemas in unusual ways in the light of new experiences1 (p. 351). Schema refreshment may involve ‘schema accretion’ (Stockwell, 2002) when new facts are added to an existing schema and new connections are established between existing schemas (p. 79) or ‘schema reformation’ (Semino, 1995) when a schema is improved through retrieving existing schemas. In fact, schema reformation, or in Jeffries’ (2001) words: schema affirmation, is a regular function of literary texts as readers/viewers find such texts satisfying because they reinforce readers’/viewers’ worldview by reflecting their schematic knowledge. According to Cook (1994), radical schema disruption, which involves the destruction of old schema and the creation of new ones, or the establishment of new connections between existing schemas, is rare (p. 223). For instance, in the case of generic disruptions, it is likely that a schema accretion takes place, in a sense that new characteristics add to viewers’ knowledge of each genre. Hence, by such schema accretion, a schematic knowledge of hybrid genre (a mixture of various generic characteristics) is developed.

In terms of schematic organization, narrative comprehension can be described in terms of the selection and instantiation or the configuration of relevant schemas which can successfully account for a certain narrative element. If readers/viewers lack a particular schema or fail to activate a schema for a particular input, they would be unable to make sense of the text. This is often true about schemas which are more culture based. For instance, an American viewer who is unfamiliar with Japanese traditions and lifestyle may fail to fully comprehend the full meaning of a scene

1 _{Semino (2001) proposes a partial redefinition of ‘schema refreshment’, since she believes that actual}

schema change is not only rare but also hard to verify. In this sense, schema accretion and schema reformation can be considered as a variant of schema refreshment.

depicting a tea ceremony in a Japanese film, as they would be unlikely to have cognitive access to a pertinent schema with which to process such an input.

A similar concept to schema instantiation is schema activation, meaning that when textual cues give rise to or activate a particular schema. For instance, in the above example, the scene of Japanese tea ceremony functions as a textual cue. Schank and Abelson (1977) call the textual cues which cause the activation of relevant schema(s) ‘headers’ and categorise them into the following four types:

1. Precondition headers refer to a necessary precondition for the application of a schema. For example, Jack was sick.

2. Instrumental headers refer to actions that may lead to the activation of a particular schema, such as Jack took a taxi to the hospital.

3. Locale headers refer to locations where a schema is likely to be activated, such as Jack got out of the taxi near the entrance door of the restaurant.

4. Internal conceptualisation headers refer to actions or roles from a schema, for example, Jack asks a nurse to guide him to a doctor.

Schank and Abelson point out that there should be at least two headers to instantiate a schema (ibid., p. 49-50).

Having discussed the fundamentals of schema and its theoretical implications for text comprehension, the next section deals with prototype theory and categorization as the other strategy of knowledge organization. This discussion will be followed by an examination of how two theories of knowledge organization can be applied to social cognition.