Tuckey and Brewer (2003): schemas and eyewitness

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Tuckey and Brewer (2003): schemas and eyewitness
- Aim: to find out what people thought was typical of bank robberies - used this to identify what was in a 'bank robbery schema'.
- Showed participants a video of a bank robbery that contained 3 types of facts: one that fitted the schema (e.g. male robbers, carry bags, escape in a car), were the opposite of the schema (e.g. robbers didn't carry guns), were irrelevant to the schema (e.g. wearing hats, what the getaway car was like).
- Participants were asked what they could recall immediately and then again several times over 12 weeks.
- They found that they remembered the facts that fitted the schema, or were the opposite, very well. They only forgot things that were irrelevant to the schema. This suggests that eyewitness memory might benefit from schemas.

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