Another characteristic of the schema theory is that it explains memory distortions. Memory distortions are filled in memories with false information, or even memories that are created completely fictionally. It gives a better insight into how memories are encoded, stored in the short-term memory, in the long-term memory and the sometimes manipulated. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage of the schema theory. An advantage because people can overwrite memories of abuse or similar traumatising incidents, with other fictional events. This is extremely beneficial because the mind can use it as a protection against traumatising events. On the other hand, it is a disadvantage because memory distortions can be hindering, as if a person remembers events, which never happened, it can inhibit court cases and otherwise serve to be a disadvantage in different situations. A research study by Jacqueline E. Pickrell, 1997 in Seattle, Washington outlines the concept of distorted memories. Pickrell gave 24 individuals between the ages of 18 and 53 a personal with three stories, which had been recounted by a family member or a close friend, and one story about the individual lost at a shopping mall, which was fictional. She told the participants that all four stories were true events of their childhood. The participants were told that they were tested on how good their memory was. The story of being lost in a maul included plausible events; lost for an extended period, crying, aid and comfort by an elderly woman and, finally, reunion with the family. The participants recalled about 49 of the 72 true events (68 percent) immediately after the initial reading of the booklet and also in the two follow-up interviews, which were conducted. After reading the booklet, seven of the 24 participants (29 percent) remembered either partially or fully the false event constructed for them and in the two follow-up interviews, six participants (25 percent) continued to claim that they remembered the fictitious events. This shows how strong the schema memory distortion is. Though it is probably more of an advantage than a disadvantage, because some events, which would have scarred a person for life, can after a very long time and with a psychologist be cured. The schema theory helps us understand how this works, and enables psychologists to find ways in which memory distortions can be enhanced, and so help people with traumatic events.
Furthermore, the schema theory helps understand social cognition to explain prejudice and stereotyping. This is very closely linked to organisation and interpretation. Prejudice is formed by people associating different things with specific types of people. A dark skinned person could for example be associated with crime and illegal activity because a person has seen a dark-skinned person on television robbing or murdering. The Schema theory helps to decipher how this works, because it suggests how specific things are linked to other things, so that a net of associations is formed. A study, which illustrates this, is a study on prejudice, conducted in 1968 by a schoolteacher. She told her school class that children with brown eyes were inferior to those with blue or green eyes. The brown-eyed children were given an armband and weren't allowed to things the other children were. They weren't for example allowed to drink out of the same water fountain. She noticed that the children slowly added being stupid to the schema of brown-eyed children and intelligence to that of the fair eyed. Therefore, every time a blue-eyed child met a brown-eyed student he thought he was stupid and inferior, due to his schema. Through the schema theory, which states that schemata change moment by moment, as information is received, it is relatively simple to explain racism and prejudice. The study also shows that schemata may also be reorganized when incoming data reveals a need to restructure the concept. The children with blue eyes quickly accepted that they were superior, and their schemas adapted accordingly. This is a big advantage of the schema theory that it explains such adaptions and flexibility, as through this many psychologists and behavioural scientists are able to comprehend such concepts.
On the other hand, the schema theory has restrictions as well though, as for example it is unclear how schemata are acquired in the first place. Research has shown that they do not always require the slow, repetitive reinforcement. Rather, people have the ability to pick up prototypical situations, even with one exposure. However, also here the schema theory leaves room for interpretations and it is extremely difficult to show how a schema is produced by the mind. This is one of the restrictions of the schema theory and makes it weaker.
Another problem with the schema theory is that is slightly too vague. This means that it is extremely difficult to comprehend to the full extent what a schema actually is. This again makes the theory weaker because the theory is not clear enough, and leaves too much room for interpretation.
Overall, the schema theory is a theory, which explains many things that would otherwise still be clandestine to psychologists. Though it can be decried at places for example at the fact that it is too vague, overall the notion which it elucidates is a great help to science and psychology as it explains mysteries such as racism, prejudice and associations within the human mind.
