Schema theory
Definition: People do not hold memories in their minds as details of things past, to be called forth when required. Instead, memories are new constructions cobbled together form bits and pieces of connected experiences and applied as situations demand.
Schemas serve four important functions for news consumers:
They determine what information will be noticed, processed, and stored so that it becomes available for later retrieval from memory.
They help people organize and evaluate new information, fitting it into their already-established perceptions. People do not have to construct new concepts when familial information is presented in the news.
They make it possible for people to go beyond the immediate information presented in a news report, helping them fill in missing information.
They help people solve problems because they contain information about likely scenarios and ways to cope with them; that is, they serve as scripts. This makes them important tools in helping people decide how to act.
Strengths
Focuses attention on individual cognitive processing in the mass communication process
Respects the information-processing ability of media consumers
Provides specificity in describing the role of experience in information processing
Provides consistent results across a wide variety of media information
Provides consistent results across a wide range of communication situations and settings
Weaknesses
Too oriented toward micro-level
Suffers from label confusion
Insufficiently accounts for neurological influences
More research is needed to understand the processes involved in schema formation and change
