Effect of schema-incongruent information on memory for stereotypical attributes

Two studies were performed to determine the effect of incongruent information on recall of schematic information in the domain of person memory. Subjects heard descriptions of five sterotypical characters, followed by additional information varying in level of relevance to, and congruence with, the initial information. We measured free recall of the initial information establishing the schema, which included a stereotype label and two highly congruent facts. Results showed that the introduction of information that is highly incongruent with a schema makes schematic information more memorable, under both immediate- and delayed-recall conditions. This effect may be one mechanism by which inappropriate schemata persevere in the face of counterevidence. The pattern of results is found to be more consistent with Hastie's (1980) depth of processing-network associational model of schematic processing (with slight modification) than with Smith and Graesser's (1981) schema-pointer + tag model.