DOCTORAL THESIS
1990:76 D
NEWSPAPER REPORTS:
Do They Influence Remembering
of the Main Session Material?
by
IRMA ALM
ITT TEKNISKA
LSI
HÖGSKOLAN I LULEÅ
OF THE MAIN SESSION MATERIAL?
av
Irma Alm
Akademisk avhandling (Nr., 1930:76D)
som med tillstånd av rektorsämbetet v i d Luleå u n i v e r s i t e t för vinnande av f i l o s o f i e doktorexamen framlägges t i l l o f f e n t l i g granskning v i d i n s t i t u t i o n e n för Arbetsvetenskap, Luleå u n i v e r s i t e t , Hörsal F341, den 2 mars 1990, k l . 13.00.
No., 1990:76D
NEWSPAPER REPORTS: DO THEY INFLUENCE REMEMBERING
OF THE MAIN SESSION MATERIAL?
by
A b s t r a c t
Alm, Irma. Newspaper R e p o r t s : Do t h e y I n f l u e n c e Remembering of t h e Main S e s s i o n M a t e r i a l ? D o c t o r a l D i s s e r t a t i o n , Department o f T e c h n i c a l Psychology, U n i v e r s i t y of Luleå, S-951 87 Luleå, Sweden, 1990.
The p r e s e n t t h e s i s was aimed a t i n v e s t i g a t i n g whether pre-exposure t o b i a s e d newspaper r e p o r t s i n f l u e n c e s remembering of t h e main s e s s i o n m a t e r i a l . I n g e n e r a l , t h e r e s u l t s show t h a t remembering of t h e main s e s s i o n m a t e r i a l v a r i e s a s a f u n c t i o n of t h e pre-exposure t o t h e b i a s e d newspaper r e p o r t s . I t seems t h a t pre-exposure t o newspaper r e p o r t s f a c i l i t a t e s t h e a c c e s s i b i l i t y o f t h e main s e s s i o n i t e m s . However, r e c o g n i t i o n of t h e main s e s s i o n m a t e r i a l i n g e n e r a l seems t o d e c r e a s e when t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s a r e pre-exposed t o newspaper r e p o r t s w r i t t e n i n o r d e r t o d i s c r e d i t t h e defendant, whereas pre-exposure t o newspaper r e p o r t s w r i t t e n i n favour of t h e defendant seem t o f a c i l i t a t e r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e main s e s s i o n m a t e r i a l . I t was suggested t h a t t h e v a r i o u s schema a c t i v a t e d on b a s i s of t h e b i a s e d newspaper r e p o r t s produced t h e e f f e c t s o b t a i n e d . F u r t h e r , t h e a b i l i t y t o d i s t i n g u i s h t h e v a r i o u s s o u r c e s of i n f o r m a t i o n d e c r e a s e d when a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n ( i . e . , i n t e r f e r e n c e ) was i n t r o d u c e d . Some of t h e r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d i n q u i r e p r e v i o u s views on e x p e r t i s e and p r i o r knowledge and a r e d i s c u s s e d f u r t h e r . Moreover, t h e l i m i t s t o g e n e r a l i z a b i l i t y a r e a l s o d i s c u s s e d .
Key words: I n f l u e n c e , r e c a l l , r e c o g n i t i o n , p r i o r knowledge, l e g a l system, p r o c e s s of c o u r t .
I I
P r e f a c e
T h i s t h e s i s c o n s i s t s of t h e p r e s e n t summary and t h e f o l l o w i n g papers, which w i l l be r e f e r r e d t o by t h e i r Roman numerals:
Paper I
Alm, I . & Ohlsson, K. O b j e c t i v i t y a t C o u r t s : E f f e c t s of B i a s e d Newspaper A r t i c l e s on R e c a l l of t h e Main S e s s i o n M a t e r i a l . Manuscript submitted f o r p u b l i c a t i o n , 1989.
Paper I I
Alm, I , The Temporal Order of t h e P r e s e n t a t i o n of I n f o r m a t i o n about a Case: I t s E f f e c t s on R e c o g n i t i o n . M a n u s c r i p t submitted f o r p u b l i c a t i o n , 1990.
Paper I I I
Alm, I . The I n f l u e n c e of B i a s e d Newspaper R e p o r t s and I n t r o d u c e d U n c e r t a i n t y on R e c o g n i t i o n of t h e Main S e s s i o n M a t e r i a l . Manuscript submitted f o r p u b l i c a t i o n , 1990.
Acknowledgement s
Punctuating the f l o w o f i n f l u e n c e exerted on me by other people, i s e q u a l l y hard as p u n c t u a t i n g t h e f l o w o f i n f l u e n c e on the process o f c o u r t . I don't know whom I should s t a r t t o thank o r whom I should blame. My parents or those who wrote a l l t h e books I read and was i n f l u e n c e d by? Or people I i n t e r a c t e d with? Nevertheless, I thank them a l l w i t h a l l my heart f o r h e l p i n g me t o develop and t o l e a r n .
Nevertheless, t h e r e are some people who are t o be more d i s t i n g u i s h e d than o t h e r s , and t o whom I would l i k e t o d i r e c t my s p e c i a l thanks.
F i r s t o f a l l I would l i k e t o thank a l l p a r t i c i p a n t s f o r making t h i s p r o j e c t p o s s i b l e . They d i d not j u s t p a s s i v e l y p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e p r o j e c t , but shared t h e i r experiences w i t h me and c o n t r i b u t e d t o many i n s i g h t s .
From Professor Berndt Brehmer, f o r whom I f e e l a healthy respect f o r h i s readiness t o express the most complicated t h i n g s i n a simple way, and f o r h i s broad knowledge and i n s i g h t s i n t o so many t h i n g s , I received not o n l y numinous support, but a l s o very c o n s t r u c t i v e c r i t i c i s m on t h e manuscripts. He put h i s time u n s e l f i s h l y and o f f duty t o my d i s p o s a l . I am much o b l i g a t e d t o him.
My supervisor K j e l l Ohlsson being i n v o l v e d i n many other t h i n g s , d i d h i s best t o supervise me - thank You K j e l l .
To t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Luleå i n general and t o t h e f a c u l t y of Technology i n p a r t i c u l a r , I would l i k e t o d i r e c t my g r a t i t u d e f o r t h e i r f i n a n c i a l support.
My colleague C h r i s t i n a Ruthger has been very h e l p f u l not only i n her checking of t h e English language, but also i n g i v i n g me p r i o r i t y any time I f e l t a need t o t a l k t o someone. Also my colleague Georg Magnusson c o n t r i b u t e d w i t h e l u c i d a t o r y viewpoints on t h e summary.
Special thanks t o Håkan Alm f o r t h e ground s e r v i c e , f o r h i s understanding, and f o r g i v i n g me support those times I f e l t s c e p t i c a l about e v e r y t h i n g i n t h e w o r l d , e s p e c i a l l y myself.
At l a s t , t o my daughter Eva I would l i k e t o d i r e c t an apology f o r a l l t h e time I was not t h e r e when she needed me. I am not sure t h a t I can compensate her. S t i l l , she kept me going.
January, 1990
Contents
I n t r o d u c t i o n 1 The need t o study t h e i n f l u e n c e o f mass media r e p o r t s
on t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t 4 Why study i n f l u e n c e i n terms o f memory? 6
To study i n f l u e n c e under n a t u r a l c o n d i t i o n s v s . i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y 7 R e s e a r c h on t h e l e g a l system 10 Mass media as a p e r s u a s i v e f a c t o r 11 Schemata 13 G e n e r a l d e s i g n of t h e study 16 Summary o f t h e e m p i r i c a l r e s u l t s 19 The c o n s i s t e n c y / i n c o n s i s t e n c y dimension 19 The s i m i l a r i t y o f t h e exposure m a t e r i a l 20 The e f f e c t s o f content b i a s o r t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e c o n s i s t e n c y h y p o t h e s i s 21 Group e f f e c t s and t h e p a r t i a l f a i l u r e o f t h e p r i o r knowledge h y p o t h e s i s 27 Gender e f f e c t s o r t h e l a t e n t support o f t h e gender-based schematic p r o c e s s i n g h y p o t h e s i s 29
Assumptions about p r i o r knowledge 30
G e n e r a l r e f l e c t i o n 32 L i m i t s t o g e r e r a l i z a b i l i t y 34
R e f e r e n c e s 36 F i g u r e c a p t i o n 48 Appendix 49
1 I n t r o d u c t i o n The p r e s e n t t h e s i s a d d r e s s e s t h e i n f l u e n c e news r e p o r t s may e x e r t on t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t . The e m p i r i c a l p a r t o f t h i s t h e s i s was c o m p l e t e d w i t h i n t h e p r o j e c t "Mass media and t h e o b j e c t i v i t y a t c o u r t s o f l a w " , a n d c o n s t i t u t e s one o f f i v e i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s d e a l i n g w i t h "economic c r i m i n a l i t y " . T h e s e p r o j e c t s s t a r t e d a t Umeå U n i v e r s i t y i n 1983. A c c o r d i n g t o t h e S w e d i s h l a w t h e c o n c e p t "economic c r i m i n a l i t y " does n o t e x i s t , b u t i s t o be c o n c e i v e d o f a s
s o l e l y i n v e n t e d by mass m e d i a . However, nowadays e v e n
j u d g e s and l a w y e r s u s e t h i s c o n c e p t beyond t h e c o l l o c j u i a l e x p r e s s i o n more a s a r u b r i c r e f e r r i n g t o VAT f r a u d , t a x
e v a s i o n , f o r g e r y , b r e a c h o f t r u s t , e t c .
On t h e whole, t h e l a c k o f knowledge o f t h e r o l e news
r e p o r t s p l a y i n t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t i s w i d e - r a n g i n g . F o r
i n s t a n c e , we l a c k t h e knowledge o f i f and how t h e c o n t e n t s
o f news r e p o r t s i n f l u e n c e j u d g e s ' and l a y a s s e s s o r s '
c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e d e f e n d a n t . We l a c k t h e knowledge o f w h e t h e r t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c h a p a r t i c u l a r c a s e r e c e i v e s
p u b l i c i t y i n news r e p o r t s a l s o i n f l u e n c e s t h e d e g r e e t o
w h i c h t h e d e f e n d a n t w i l l be examined. We l a c k t h e
knowledge o f w h e t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n coming from news r e p o r t s
l a y a s s e s s o r s w h i l e c l a s s i f y i n g a s w e l l a s s e n t e n c i n g t h e c r i m e . We l a c k t h e knowledge o f w h e t h e r t h e o b j e c t i v i t y i n
c o u r t s w o u l d be changed i f j u d g e s and l a y a s s e s s o r s would
be s e p a r a t e d from t h a t e x t e r n a l i n f l u e n c e w h i c h may be
e x e r t e d by news r e p o r t s a n d i n t e r f e r e n c e , e t c .
T h e o r e t i c a l l y i t may be a r g u e d t h a t a l t h o u g h p e o p l e
encode e n v i r o n m e n t a l i n f o r m a t i o n f a i r l y a c c u r a t e l y , t h e y
a l s o a p p e a r t o encode some k i n d o f a b s t r a c t summary r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e d a t a a l o n g t h e d a t a t h e m s e l v e s , a n d
t h i s summary may i n f l u e n c e s u b s e q u e n t p r o c e s s i n g a n d
d e c i s i o n s ( e . g . , H i g g i n s & B a r g h , 1 9 8 6 ) . A l s o , s o c i a l
j u d g e m e n t s made i n r e l a t i o n t o one c o n t e x t may be u s e d a t
a l a t e r o c c a s i o n t o r e c o n s t r u c t t h e s t i m u l u s i n f o r m a t i o n
w i t h o u t t a k i n g t h e o r i g i n a l c o n t e x t o f judgement
s u f f i c i e n t l y i n t o a c c o u n t ( H i g g i n s & L u r i e , 1 9 8 3 ) . A n a l o g o u s l y , news r e p o r t s a b o u t a p a r t i c u l a r c a s e may
c a u s e t h a t j u d g e s and l a y a s s e s s o r s may form some k i n d o f
c o n c e p t i o n o f t h a t c a s e . T h i s c o n c e p t i o n , i n t u r n , may g u i d e t h e s e l e c t i o n o f s u b s e q u e n t i n f o r m a t i o n o c c u r r i n g a t t h e t r i a l and h e n c e a l s o g u i d e d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g w i t h o u t r e a l i z i n g t h a t t h e judgement was i n p a r t i n f l u e n c e d by t h e c o n c e p t i o n formed on b a s i s o f news r e p o r t . C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t mass media i n g e n e r a l r e p o r t s f r a g m e n t a r y i n f o r m a t i o n ( e . g . , I n g e l s t a m , 1987) and h e n c e , may r e p o r t o n l y some p a r t i c u l a r v i e w p o i n t s on an e v e n t , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o i n v e s t i g a t e w h e t h e r news r e p o r t s d e a l i n g w i t h c r i m i n a l c a s e s would t h r e a t t h e l e g a l s e c u r i t y t r o u g h
3 a f f e c t i n g t h e c o n c e p t i o n t h e r e o f b e f o r e t h e commencement o f t h e t r i a l . A l s o , a c c o u n t i n g t h a t t h e r e a r e few, i f any, p o s s i b i l i t i e s , due t o t h e j u r i d i c a l and e t h i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , o f s t u d y i n g i n f l u e n c e o f news r e p o r t s about a p a r t i c u l a r c a s e on t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t i n e v e r y d a y l i f e , t h e p r o b l e m t o d e c i d e w h e r e t o s t a r t a s w e l l a s how t o examine t h e i n f l u e n c e i s a p p a r e n t . N e v e r t h e l e s s , a s t h e r e a r e few, i f any, s t u d i e s t a k i n g t h e i n f l u e n c e t h a t may be e x e r t e d by news r e p o r t s on t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n , t h e e x a m i n a t i o n o f w h e t h e r n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t s a c t u a l l y i n f l u e n c e t h e
remembering o f t h e main s e s s i o n m a t e r i a l seems t o be t h e f i r s t q u e s t i o n t o be a n s w e r e d . I f t h e r e s u l t s w o u l d be
a f f i r m a t i v e , t h e r e would a l s o be m o t i v e s f o r an a d d i t i o n a l
e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e i n f l u e n c e e x e r t e d by news r e p o r t s on
t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t from v a r i o u s p o i n t s o f v i e w .
I n sum, t h e aim o f t h e p r e s e n t t h e s i s was t o
i n v e s t i g a t e w h e t h e r p r e - e x p o s u r e t o v a r i o u s l y b i a s e d n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t s s h o u l d i n f l u e n c e j u d g e s ' and l a y a s s e s s o r s ' remembering o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r o c c u r r i n g i n t h e main s e s s i o n m a t e r i a l a s w e l l a s t h e i r a b i l i t y t o d i s t i n g u i s h t h e s o u r c e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n . The e s s e n c e c o n c e r n s t h e i n f l u e n c e o f news r e p o r t s on t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t and c o n s e q u e n t l y , on l e g a l s e c u r i t y .
The n e e d t o s t u d y t h e i n f l u e n c e o f mass m e d i a r e p o r t s on t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t The S w e d i s h l e g a l s y s t e m i s d e s i g n e d t o y i e l d o b j e c t i v e , u n b i a s e d d e c i s i o n s b a s e d on a s e t o f r u l e s and p r o c e d u r e s . T h e s e r u l e s and p r o c e d u r e s p r i m a r i l y g u i d e t h e p r o c e d u r a l b e h a v i o u r o f t h e a t t o r n e y s . Y e t , t h e r e a r e no r u l e s o r p r o c e d u r e s t h a t c a n p r e v e n t t h a t p o t e n t i a l e x t e r n a l i n f l u e n c e on an o b j e c t i v e t r e a t m e n t o f a c a s e ,
w h i c h may emanate from, f o r i n s t a n c e , news r e p o r t s and
i n t e r f e r e n c e . B e i n g " o b j e c t i v e " i s assumed t o be t h e s t a t e o f d e s c r i b i n g r e a l i t y , o r d e a l i n g w i t h r e a l i t y , u n a f f e c t e d by f e e l i n g s and v a l u e s . S t i l l , an e n h a n c i n g e m p i r i c a l s u p p o r t d o e s e x i s t t h a t many a f f e c t s ( i . e . , f e e l i n g s ) a r e e s s e n t i a l l y p r e c o g n i t i v e and c o n s t i t u t e t h e i n i t i a l l e v e l o f r e s p o n s e t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t ( e . g . , I z a r d , 1977; O r n s t e i n , 1986; Z a j o n c , 1 9 8 0 ) . Z a j o n c (1980) a r g u e d t h a t t h e f i r s t s t a g e o f r e s p o n s e t o s t i m u l i c o n s i s t s o f g l o b a l , g e n e r a l i z e d a f f e c t s r e l a t e d t o p r e f e r e n c e s ( e . g . , l i k i n g , d i s l i k i n g ) and a p p r o a c h - a v o i d a n c e b e h a v i o u r . T h i s a f f e c t i v e r e s p o n s e s t r u c t u r e s and s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n f l u e n c e s t h e e n s u i n g c o g n i t i v e p r o c e s s . Thus, a t l e a s t t h e a f f e c t
formed on t h e b a s i s o f news r e p o r t s may be p r e s e r v e d , and
may a l s o i n f l u e n c e what k i n d o f argument p r e s e n t e d d u r i n g
t h e t r i a l t h a t w i l l be a t t e n d e d t o .
5 o n l y know how i t o p e r a t e s w i t h i n i t s f r a m e s i n t e r m s o f
p r o c e d u r e s and r u l e s , b u t a l s o what c a n d e t e r i o r a t e i t s
f u n c t i o n s i n t e r m s o f u n s u i t a b l e e x t e r n a l i n f l u e n c e .
The p r o c e s s o f c o u r t a s a whole i s b u i l t upon
i n f l u e n c e , t h a t i s , t h e c o u r t p r o c e e d i n g s a r e e s t a b l i s h e d on a s s i g n i n g o p p o s i n g a t t o r n e y s a s a d v e r s a r i e s ( e . g . , S h e p p a r d & V i d m a r , 1 9 8 0 ) . The p o i n t i s t o i n f l u e n c e j u d g e s ' and l a y a s s e s s o r s ' c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e d e f e n d a n t . N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h a t p r o c e s s may s t a r t a l o n g t i m e b e f o r e t h e commencement o f t h e t r i a l , due t o t h e a t t e n t i o n g i v e n t o a p a r t i c u l a r c a s e by mass m e d i a . I n Sweden, n e i t h e r j u d g e s n o r l a y a s s e s s o r s ( i . e . , j u r o r s ) a r e g u a r d e d a g a i n s t i n t e r n a l i n f l u e n c e , n o t e v e n d u r i n g e x t e n d e d c a s e s . Y e t , d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t j u d g e s
a r e recommended not t o t a k e news r e p o r t s i n t o
c o n s i d e r a t i o n , i t seems t h a t many o f them s t u d y j o u r n a l i s m
a b o u t j u r i d i c a l c a s e s ( O h l s s o n , 1 9 8 5 ) . The q u e s t i o n i s w h e t h e r t h e c o n t e n t s o f news r e p o r t s m i g h t e x e r t any i n f l u e n c e on t h e i r c o n c e p t i o n o f a c a s e . A l s o , t h e f a c t t h a t t h e S w e d i s h l e g a l s y s t e m c o m p r i s e s l a y m e n ( i . e . , l a y a s s e s s o r s ) i n t h e t r i a l , t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f w h e t h e r f r e s h l a y a s s e s s o r s l a c k i n g e x p e r i e n c e o f t r i a l s , c o u l d be d i f f e r e n t l y i n f l u e n c e d by news r e p o r t s t h a n more e x p e r i e n c e d l a y a s s e s s o r s o r j u d g e s , seems t o be i m p o r t a n t t o c a r r y on. I n t h i s c a s e , s u c h p o t e n t i a l f r e s h l a y a s s e s s o r s a r e s y m b o l i z e d by t h e g r o u p o f l a y m e n .
Why s t u d y i n f l u e n c e i n t e r m s o f memory? I n t h e f i e l d o f c o g n i t i v e p s y c h o l o g y , memory r e s e a r c h r e p r e s e n t s a s u b s t a n t i a l p a r t . C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t c o g n i t i o n i n c l u d e s " a l l t h e p r o c e s s e s by w h i c h t h e s e n s o r y i n p u t i s t r a n s f o r m e d , r e d u c e d , e l a b o r a t e d , s t o r e d , r e c o v e r e d , and u s e d " , and t h a t " a t l e a s t h a l f o f t h o s e h y p o t h e t i c a l p r o c e s s e s i n v o l v e memory" ( N e i s s e r , 1 9 8 2 ) , t h e c h o i c e o f s t u d y i n g i n f l u e n c e i n t e r m s o f memory, i s a t l e a s t t o one h a l f j u s t i f i e d . A l s o h a v i n g i n mind t h a t t h o s e h y p o t h e t i c a l p r o c e s s e s r e q u i r e some k i n d o f l e a r n i n g and c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t l e a r n i n g and memory a r e r e l a t e d i n t h e
s e n s e t h a t some manner o f l e a r n i n g o r a c q u i s i t i o n must be
assumed i f m a t e r i a l i s t o be remembered, memory becomes
e v e n a more s i g n i f i c a n t o b j e c t t o be s t u d i e d . A d d i t i o n a l l y , memory may a l s o be v i e w e d a s a p a r t o f t h e d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g p r o c e s s . T h i s p r o c e s s i s a f f e c t e d by an i n d i v i d u a l ' s a b i l i t i e s , b a c k g r o u n d , a t t i t u d e s , m o t i v e s , and b e l i e f s a s w e l l a s by t h e e n v i r o n m e n t ( e . g . , B u c k h o u t , 1 9 8 2 ) . I n o t h e r words, t h e i n d i v i d u a l d e c i d e s what i s
i m p o r t a n t , what s/he w i l l a t t e n d t o , what s/he w i l l be i n f l u e n c e d by, and what s/he w i l l remember.
I n e v e r y d a y l i f e p e o p l e u s u a l l y d i s c u s s what t h e y h a v e r e a d o r h e a r d w i t h o t h e r s . They form a c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e
e v e n t . The c o n c e p t i o n does n o t n e e d t o be v e r y s p e c i f i c ,
i t may r e p r e s e n t j u s t some k i n d o f f e e l i n g ( c f . ,
7 may s t i l l i n f l u e n c e s u b s e q u e n t p r o c e s s i n g ( e . g . , Z a j o n c , 1 9 8 0 ) . A s a m a t t e r o f f a c t , e v e n a l i t t l e b i t o f i n i t i a l e v i d e n c e may f o r m a g e n e r a l b e l i e f , w h i c h i n t u r n , c a u s e s o t h e r e v i d e n c e t o b e s e e n i n a d i s t o r t e d f a s h i o n , w h i c h i n t u r n , s t r e n g h t e n s t h e b e l i e f ( e . g . , B a r o n & B y r n e , 1 9 8 7 ) . A c c o r d i n g t o B a r o n a n d B y r n e i t d o e s n o t m a t t e r w h e t h e r t h e i n i t i a l e v i d e n c e w o u l d b e d i s c r e d i t e d o n a l a t e r o c c a s i o n , o n e may s t i l l t h i n k t h e r e i s p l e n t y o f o t h e r s u p p o r t f o r t h a t b e l i e f . I n o t h e r w o r d s , i t s e e m s t h a t o n c e t h e m i n d d r a w s a c o n c l u s i o n , i t t e n d s t o d i s r e g a r d t h e b a s i s f o r i t . I t c a n b e a r g u e d t h a t p e o p l e r e m e m b e r a n e v e n t o r s o m e p a r t s o f a n e v e n t i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e m e a n i n g t h e e v e n t h a s t o t h e m a n d i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e p e r c e i v e d m e s s a g e s p r i n g i n g f r o m t h e e v e n t . T h e m o r e t h e e v e n t i s d i s c u s s e d a n d r e h e a r s e d , t h e e a s i e r i t u s u a l l y i s r e m e m b e r e d . T h a t memory, i n t u r n , may b e u s e d a s a s t r a i n e r , t h a t i s , i n f l u e n c e w h a t w i l l b e p i c k e d o u t a n d p r o c e s s e d o f t h e s u b s e q u e n t i n f o r m a t i o n . T h u s , s t u d y i n g i n f l u e n c e i n t e r m s o f memory may i n d i r e c t l y i n d i c a t e w h e t h e r some k i n d o f c o n c e p t i o n w a s f o r m e d o n b a s i s o f t h e n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t s a s w e l l a s w h e t h e r s o m e k i n d o f u n s u i t a b l e i n f l u e n c e o c c u r r e d . T o s t u d y i n f l u e n c e o f n e w s r e p o r t s u n d e r n a t u r a l c o n d i t i o n s v s . i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y
I n f l u e n c e i s a c o m p l e x , s o c i a l , a n d n e v e r - e n d i n g p r o c e s s . I t o c c u r s a l l t h e t i m e a n d e v e r y w h e r e . I t r e f e r s t o t h e e x c h a n g e o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n ( c f . , B a t e s o n , 1 9 7 2 ) . T h e w a y i n w h i c h we p u n c t u a t e t h e f l o w o f i n f l u e n c e o r c o m m u n i c a t i o n , a n d t h e w a y i n w h i c h we m e a s u r e i t h a s , o f c o u r s e , i m p l i c a t i o n s n o t o n l y f o r w h a t k i n d o f k n o w l e d g e we g a i n , b u t a l s o f o r w h a t k i n d o f k n o w l e d g e we w a s t e . A s a m a t t e r o f f a c t , we d o n o t know how t o p u n c t u a t e t h e f l o w o f i n f l u e n c e , n e i t h e r d o we know how t o s e p a r a t e d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f e v e n t s a s w e l l a s we c a n n o t b e s u r e w h e t h e r a n y n a t u r a l r a n g e s o r d e m a r c a t i o n s f o r e v e n t s d o e x i s t ( e . g . , N e i s s e r , 1 9 8 2 ) . N e v e r t h e l e s s , some b o u n d a r y f o r t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n i s n e c e s s a r y , b u t i t i s a l w a y s a r b i t r a r y i n t h e s e n s e o f b e i n g m e t h o d o l o g i c a l r a t h e r t h a n r e a l ( W h y t e , 1 9 6 2 ) . I n e v e r y d a y l i f e , i n f l u e n c e o c c u r s a s a f u n c t i o n o f o n g o i n g s i t u a t i o n s a n d s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n s . T h e s e s i t u a t i o n s a n d i n t e r a c t i o n s c r e a t e t h e m e a n i n g a n d i m p o r t a n c e o f a l l t h e i n d i v i d u a l e v e n t s t h a t p e o p l e a t t e n d t o a n d r e m e m b e r ( e . g . , H e w i t t , 1 9 7 6 ; L i n t o n , 1 9 8 2 ) . T h u s , i t i s h a r d t o f i n d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f e v e r y d a y l i f e i n l a b o r a t o r y m o d e l s ( C o l e , Hood, & M c D e r m o t t , 1 9 8 2 ) . N e i t h e r t h e m u l t i p l i c i t y n o r t h e f l e x i b i l i t y o f e v e r y d a y l i f e , w h i c h s e e m t o c r e a t e t h e c o n d i t i o n p e o p l e t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f ( N e i s s e r , 1 9 7 6 ) , c a n b e f u l l y i m i t a t e d i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y . M o r e o v e r , a c c o r d i n g t o B r e h m e r ( 1 9 8 4 ) , a l l p s y c h o l o g i c a l p r o c e s s e s s h o u l d b e s t u d i e d i n n a t u r a l
9 c o n t e x t s , t h a t i s , t h e t a s k s s h o u l d n o t d i f f e r i n f u n d a m e n t a l a s p e c t s from t h e t a s k s o f c o n c e r n t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l u n d e r n a t u r a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s . However, t o s t u d y i n f l u e n c e u n d e r n a t u r a l c o n d i t i o n s i s n o t exempt from p r o b l e m s e i t h e r , t h a t i s , s t u d y i n g memory u n d e r n a t u r a l c o n d i t i o n s c h a n g e s t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s
f o r memory f u n c t i o n s t o some d e g r e e . T h a t i s , p e o p l e who
a r e aware o f b e i n g s t u d i e d p r o b a b l y b e h a v e d i f f e r e n t l y t h a n t h e y u s u a l l y do. T h i s argument i s a l s o i m p o r t a n t i n t h e c a s e o f a s t r o n g f o r c e o f news r e p o r t s a b o u t a p a r t i c u l a r c a s e , t h a t i s , j u d g e s and l a y a s s e s s o r s p e r c e i v i n g t h a t f o r c e p r o b a b l y b e h a v e d i f f e r e n t l y t h a n what w o u l d h a v e b e e n t h e c a s e i f t h a t f o r c e h a d n o t b e e n e x e r t e d . The m u l t i p l i c i t y and f l e x i b i l i t y o f e v e r y d a y l i f e a l s o make t h e c o n t r o l o f a l l t h e p r o c e s s e s , w h i c h may be i n v o l v e d i n t h e t a s k s t u d i e d , more d i f f i c u l t . S t i l l , i t i s an i n d i s p u t a b l e f a c t t h a t most o f t h e r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d from l a b o r a t o r y p e r f o r m e d s t u d i e s
r e p r e s e n t our knowledge and a p p r e h e n s i o n o f t h e w o r l d
o u t s i d e t h e l a b o r a t o r y . T h u s , t h e c h o i c e o f c o n t e x t s h o u l d be d e p e n d e n t on t h e p r o b l e m s t u d i e d . I f t h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s t h e s i s w o u l d h a v e been t o s t u d y t h e u n d e r l y i n g mechanisms o f i n f l u e n c e , a w e l l - d e s i g n e d a n d c o n t r o l l e d l a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t s h o u l d be p r e f e r r e d . B u t , f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f s t u d y i n g i n f l u e n c e o f news r e p o r t s i n a s r e a l s i t u a t i o n s a s p o s s i b l e , t h e f u n d a m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e
i n f l u e n c e e x e r t e d i n e v e r y d a y l i f e s h o u l d b e k e p t i n t a c t . H e n c e , t h e q u a s i - e x p e r i m e n t a l d e s i g n u s e d p e r m i t t e d s u f f i c i e n t c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e i n f l u e n c e i n e v e r y d a y l i f e a n d a l s o a l l o w e d a n a c c e p t a b l e c o n t r o l o f t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l m a n i p u l a t i o n , t h a t i s , t h e e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n s w e r e h o l d i n v a r i a b l e , t h e e x p o s u r e m a t e r i a l w a s a s f a r a s p o s s i b l e e x p o s e d a t t h e p l a c e s w h e r e t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s e i t h e r l i v e d o r w o r k e d , a n d t h e e x p o s u r e m a t e r i a l c o u l d r e c o n s t r u c t a n a u t h e n t i c e v e n t . R e s e a r c h , on t h e l e g a l s y s t e m A l m o s t a l l s o c i a l - p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h o n t h e l e g a l s y s t e m i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h w i t n e s s memory ( e . g . , L o f t u s , 1 9 7 5 ; L o f t u s & L o f t u s , 1 9 8 0 ; L o f t u s & P a l m e r , 1 9 8 2 ) , e y e w i t n e s s t e s t i m o n y ( e . g . , B u c k h o u t , 1 9 8 2 ; M u n s t e r b e r g , 1 9 0 7 ; L e i p p e , 1 9 8 5 ; S h e p h e r d , E l l i s , & D a v i e s , 1 9 8 3 ) , b e h a v i o u r o f a t t o r n e y s ( e . g . , S h e p p a r d & V i d m a r , 1 9 8 0 ; W e l l s , W r i g h t s m a n , & M i e n e , 1 9 8 5 ) , b e h a v i o u r o f j u d g e s ( e . g . , C a r r e t t a & M o r e l a n d , 1 9 8 3 ; C a v o u k i a n & Doob, 1 9 8 0 ) , t r e a t m e n t o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s ( e . g . , B a u m e i s t e r & D a r l e y , 1 9 8 2 ; H e n d e r s o n & T a y l o r , 1 9 8 5 ; K e r r , 1 9 7 8 a ; M i c h e l i n i & S n o d g r a s s , 1 9 8 0 ; S t e w a r t , 1 9 8 0 ) , a n d j u r o r b i a s ( e . g . , G r e e n b e r g , W i l l i a m s , & O ' B r i e n , 1 9 8 6 ; K e r r , 1 9 7 8 b ) . T h e r e i s m o u n t i n g e v i d e n c e t h a t p s y c h o l o g i c a l f a c t o r s i n f l u e n c e w i t n e s s e s , j u r o r s , a n d a l s o r e s p o n s e s t o d e f e n d a n t s , a t t o r n e y s , a n d j u d g e s ( s e e B a r o n & B y r n e ,
1987 f o r a r e v i e w ) . T h e r e i s a l s o c o n s i d e r a b l e e v i d e n c e t h a t j u r o r s p a r t l y r e s p o n d on b a s i s o f t h e i r p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s , t h e i r b e l i e f s , and t h e i r a t t i t u d e s a b o u t t h e c r i m e i n q u e s t i o n ( e . g . , G r e e n b e r g , W i l l i a m s , S O ' B r i e n , 1986; K e r r , 1978b, M i t c h e l l & B y r n e 1982) . S t i l l , we a l s o n e e d t o i n v e s t i g a t e w h e t h e r a d d i t i o n a l f a c t o r s ( i . e . , news r e p o r t s about c r i m i n a l c a s e s , i n t e r f e r e n c e ) w o u l d i n f l u e n c e how a p a r t i c u l a r c a s e o r a p a r t i c u l a r d e f e n d a n t w i l l be t r e a t e d . Mass m e d i a a s a p e r s u a s i v e f a c t o r
One o f t h e most s u b t l e and most p e r s u a s i v e f a c t o r s , w h i c h o p e r a t e s o u t s i d e t h e c o u r t o f law i s news media
( c f . , A r o n s o n , 1972; C a r l s o n , 1975; McLeod, B e c k e r , &
B y r n e s , 1974; M c Q u a i l , 1977; M i l l e r & Burgoon, 1972; Nowak
& Wärneryd, 1969; V a l l o n e , R o s s , & L e p p e r , 1 9 8 5 ) .
I r r e s p e c t i v e o f w h e t h e r mass media p r e s e n t s u n b i a s e d news,
many p e o p l e w i l l t h i n k o f i t a s b i a s e d anyway ( e . g . , Sweeney & G r u b e r , 1984; V a l l o n e e t a l . , 1 9 8 5 ) . E v e n i f mass m e d i a c o m m u n i c a t o r s a r e n o t making a d i r e c t a t t e m p t t o p e r s u a d e u s , t h e y c a n s u c c e e d i n i n f l u e n c i n g t h e way we l o o k a t t h e w o r l d and t h e way we r e s p o n d t o i m p o r t a n t e v e n t s i n o u r l i v e s ( e . g . , A r o n s o n , 1 9 7 2 ) . I n o t h e r words, mass m e d i a c a n e x e r t a s u b t l e i n f l u e n c e on our o p i n i o n s s i m p l y by d e t e r m i n i n g w h i c h e v e n t s a r e g i v e n e x p o s u r e . The
s c e p t i c a l s / h e i s a b o u t p e r s u a s i v e m e s s a g e s i s w i d e s p r e a d .
However, a c c o r d i n g t o A r o n s o n , t h a t does n o t mean t h a t
s/he i s immune t o p e r s u a s i o n .
F o r i n s t a n c e , news r e p o r t s a b o u t t h e Palme ( i . e . ,
Palme was a S w e d i s h p r i m e m i n i s t e r k i l l e d 1986) murder i n
g e n e r a l and t h e Palme c o u r t p r o c e e d i n g s i n p a r t i c u l a r ,
c r e a t e d c o n v i c t i o n s by o r d i n a r y p e o p l e t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n t
i n d i v i d u a l s o r g r o u p s who were a c c u s e d o f t h a t murder were
e i t h e r g u i l t y o r n o t g u i l t y . T h i s d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t
t h e r e was no c o n c l u s i v e e v i d e n c e a g a i n s t them. Thus, i t
a p p e a r s t h a t o r d i n a r y p e o p l e were p e r s u a d e d o r a f f e c t e d
d i f f e r e n t l y b y t h e news r e p o r t s . The q u e s t i o n i s : "Why?"
C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e human mind i s n o t j u s t a j u m b l e o f i s o l a t e d f a c t s a b o u t e v e n t s i n t h e w o r l d , b u t r a t h e r an o r g a n i z e d s y s t e m , t h e r e i s a l w a y s some p r o b a b i l i t y t h a t some o f t h e p e r s u a s i o n s , w h i c h p e o p l e a r e e x p o s e d t o w i l l f a i l , w h e r e a s some o f them w i l l s u c c e e d . T h i s b e c a u s e p e o p l e do n o t u t t e r l y and p a s s i v e l y a b s o r b p e r s u a s i v e m e s s a g e s . I n s t e a d , t h e y r e f l e c t upon them, o r g a n i z e , o r s t r u c t u r e them i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e i r s c h e m a t a , w h i c h r e p r e s e n t an o r g a n i z e d c o l l e c t i o n o f o n e ' s b e l i e f s a n d f e e l i n g s a b o u t s o m e t h i n g ( s e e A l b a & H a s h e r , 1983; B a r o n & B y r n e , 1987; C a r v e r & S c h e i e r , 1981; T a y l o r & C r o c k e r , 1981 f o r a r e v i e w on t h e s e t o p i c s ) . T h e s e b e l i e f s and f e e l i n g s m a i n l y r e s u l t from e x p e r i e n c e , i n t e r f e r e n c e , i n t e r a c t i o n , s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g p r o p h e c i e s , norms, and o t h e r p r o c e s s e s o f s o c i a l c o g n i t i o n a n d s o c i a l p e r c e p t i o n ( c f . ,
Kahneman & M i l l e r , 1986; M i l l e r & T u r n b u l l , 1986;
Z e b r o w i t z M c A r t h u r & B a r o n , 1983) . Thus, a c c o r d i n g t o
B a r o n and B y r n e ( 1 9 8 7 ) , t h e mind o r g a n i z e s i t s c o n t e n t s
c a r e f u l l y and e l a b o r a t e l y . Once o r g a n i z e d , t h e mind must
sometimes r e t r e a t from t h e t i m e - c o n s u m i n g , s o p h i s t i c a t e d , f u l l y i n f o r m e d b r a n d o f d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g t o a more a u t o m a t i c , p r i m i t i v e , s i n g l e - f e a t u r e t y p e o f r e s p o n d i n g ( C i a l d i n i , 1 9 8 8 ) . E s p e c i a l l y , when p e o p l e a r e r u s h e d , s t r e s s e d , u n c e r t a i n , i n d i f f e r e n t , d i s t r a c t e d , o r f a t i g u e d , w h i c h seems t o be q u i t e n o r m a l s t a t e s t h e s e d a y s , t h e y t e n d t o f o c u s on l e s s o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a v a i l a b l e t o them
(Moore, H a u s k n e c h t , & Thamodaran, 1 9 8 6 ) .
S c h e m a t a The c o n c e p t "schema" h a s b e e n i n t r o d u c e d by B a r t l e t t ( 1 9 3 2 ) . A l t h o u g h schema t h e o r i e s a r e u s e d t o e x p l a i n a c o n s i d e r a b l e p a r t o f c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h i n human memory, i t i s w i d e l y a g r e e d t h a t t h e c o n c e p t h a s no f i x e d d e f i n i t i o n ( e . g . , B r e w e r & T r e y e n s , 1981; T a y l o r & C r o c k e r , 1 9 8 1 ) . I n g e n e r a l , a schema i s most o f t e n u s e d t o r e f e r t o t h e g e n e r a l knowledge an i n d i v i d u a l p o s s e s s e s about a p a r t i c u l a r domain ( A l b a & H a s h e r , 1 9 8 3 ) . A c c o r d i n g t o B a r o n and B y r n e ( 1 9 8 7 ) , t h e m a j o r e f f e c t s o f s c h e m a t a upon i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s i n g may be f o u n d w i t h i n t h r e e c o g n i t i v e p r o c e s s e s : A t t e n t i o n , e n c o d i n g , and r e t r i e v a l . A t t e n t i o n r e f e r s t o what w i l l be n o t i c e d .
R e t r i e v a l r e f e r s t o what a c t u a l l y g e t s remembered l a t e r
on. However, i t i s o b v i o u s t h a t c o g n i t i v e p s y c h o l o g i s t a r e
f a r from unanimous i n t h e i r a s s u m p t i o n s a b o u t how s c h e m a t a
w o r k s . The i m p o r t a n c e o f schema a c t i v a t i o n d u r i n g e n c o d i n g
a s w e l l a s d u r i n g r e t r i e v a l h a s b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d ( e . g . ,
A n d e r s o n & P i c h e r t , 1978; Berman, Read, & Kenny, 1983;
B r a n s f o r d & J o h n s o n , 1972; B r i t t o n , Meyer, Hodge, & G l y n n ,
1980; Conway & R o s s , 1984; D a r l e y & G r o s s , 1983; H a s h e r & G r i f f i n , 1978; H i g g i n s & B a r g h , 1987; H i g g i n s , R h o l e s , &
J o n e s , 1977; S r u l l & Wyer, 1 9 8 6 ) . Moreover, A l b a and
H a s h e r (1983) q u e s t i o n e d w h e t h e r schema t h e o r i e s c a n
e x p l a i n memory f o r complex e v e n t s . A l b a and H a s h e r a r g u e d
t h a t t h e r e a r e a v a r i e t y o f n o n s c h e m a t i c c o n c e p t s
a v a i l a b l e t o e x p l a i n memory f o r complex e v e n t s and t h a t
t h e s t o r e d r e c o r d o f any e v e n t i s f a r more d e t a i l e d t h a n p r o t o t y p i c a l schema t h e o r i e s i m p l y . A c c o r d i n g t o them, a t
l e a s t some s c h e m a t i c a l l y u n i m p o r t a n t i n f o r m a t i o n i s
s t o r e d . S t i l l , t h e f a c t t h a t t h e r e a r e a v a r i e t y o f n o n s c h e m a t i c c o n c e p t s t h a t may e x p l a i n memory f o r complex
e v e n t s , d o e s n o t a u t o m a t i c a l l y r e j e c t t h e schema
h y p o t h e s i s . R a t h e r , i t may mean t h a t schema t h e o r i e s a r e
i n s u f f i c i e n t l y e l a b o r a t e d . A schema may a l s o be v i e w e d a s
a h i e r a r c h i c a l knowledge s t r u c t u r e . As s u c h i t l e a v e s out
t h r e e t h i n g s : (a) t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t v a r i o u s t a s k demands
may d i r e c t a t t e n t i o n t o v a r i o u s l e v e l s o f t h a t s t r u c t u r e ,
15 c o n t a i n more e l e m e n t s t h a n t h e h i g h e r l e v e l s , and ( c ) t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e e l e m e n t s o f t h e l o w e r l e v e l s may s h a r e some f e a t u r e s w i t h e l e m e n t s o f o t h e r schema a t s i m i l a r l e v e l s . G i v e n t h a t p o i n t o f v i e w , i t c a n be a r g u e d t h a t t h e f a i l u r e o f f i t t i n g some d e t a i l s i n t o a p a r t i c u l a r schema may be a r e s u l t o f t h e i m p e r f e c t c o r r e s p o n d e n c e
b e t w e e n t h e d e t a i l s remembered and t h e l e v e l o f t h e schema
r e q u e s t e d . T h a t i s , when t h e o r y and s t r u c t u r e match, t h e
t a s k becomes s i m p l e ; when t h e r e i s a m i s m a t c h b e t w e e n t h e o r y and s t r u c t u r e , t h e t a s k becomes d i f f i c u l t . I n v e r y g e n e r a l , y e t e n l i g h t e n i n g t e r m s , t h e a s s u m p t i o n s b e h i n d schema t h e o r i e s may be s u m m a r i z e d w i t h C a r v e r and S c h e i e r ' s (1981) w o r d s : As p e o p l e examine t h e i r e n v i r o n m e n t s , t h e y a b s t r a c t t h e i n p u t i n f o r m a t i o n i n t o b a s i c components ( i . e . , a t t r i b u t e s , f e a t u r e s , r e l a t i o n s h i p , e t c . ) . O v e r t h e c o u r s e o f r e p e a t e d e x p e r i e n c e s , a c a t e g o r y s t r u c t u r e i s c r e a t e d i n memory, b a s e d on c o m m o n a l t i e s o f t h e s e a b s t r a c t e d e l e m e n t s among
e x p e r i e n c e s . The r e c o g n i t i o n and c a t e g o r i z a t i o n o f new
p e r c e p t u a l e x p e r i e n c e s o c c u r by r e f e r e n c e t o t h e s e p r e v i o u s l y d e v e l o p e d c a t e g o r i e s , and t h e i m p l i c i t r u l e s y s t e m s t h a t d e f i n e them. T h a t i s , t h e e x p e r i e n c e i s p e r c e i v e d a s b e l o n g i n g t o an e v e n t c a t e g o r y on t h e b a s i s o f t h e f e a t u r e s t h a t a r e e x t r a c t e d from t h e e x p e r i e n c e i t s e l f , and t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e s e f e a t u r e s t o t h e membership r e q u i r e m e n t s o f v a r i o u s e v e n t c a t e g o r i e s . G i v e n t h a t t h e p e r c e p t h a s b e e n f i t t o some c a t e g o r i z a t i o n a l
schema, t h e r e may be a t e n d e n c y t o assume t h a t o t h e r
a s p e c t s o f t h e schema ( e . g . , o t h e r a t t r i b u t e s ) a r e a p p l i c a b l e t o i t a s w e l l ( s e e pp. 6 5 - 6 6 ) .
I n g e n e r a l , a schema i s a s e t o f r u l e s t h a t d e f i n e
knowledge s t r u c t u r e s and h e n c e , i t works a s a g u i d e a s t o
what s h o u l d be s t o r e d i n memory. Once t h e i n f o r m a t i o n i s
s e l e c t e d , t h e schema does e x e r c i s e i n f l u e n c e i n a d u l t ' s
l o n g t e r m memories ( e . g . , Y u s s e n , Huang, Mathews, S E v a n s ,
1 9 8 8 ) . I n many c a s e s , i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t f i t s t h e schema
w i l l be e n c o d e d b e s t , y e t , sometimes, i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t
c l e a r l y c o n t r a d i c t s a schema w i l l be e n c o d e d ( e . g . , B a r o n
& B y r n e , 1987) . However, i t seems t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n
c o n t r a d i c t i n g a schema m e r e l y d e t e r m i n e s how much p e o p l e
t h i n k a b o u t i t , y e t t h e m e n t a l e f f o r t i n v e s t e d i n t h e c o n t r a d i c t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n does n o t seem t o change t h e
schema, r a t h e r i t g o e s t o b o l s t e r i t ( e . g . , 0 ' S u l l i v a n & D u r s o , 1 9 8 4 ) . I t seems t h a t i f p e o p l e form a c o n c e p t i o n o f some e v e n t , t h e i r c o n c e p t i o n o f i t t e n d s t o r e m a i n e v e n i f , by means o f p r o o f , i t w o u l d be shown t h a t t h i s s o m e t h i n g i s f a l s e ( O r n s t e i n , 1 9 8 6 ) . G e n e r a l d e s i g n o f t h e s t u d y
The p a r t i c i p a n t s were r e q u e s t e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n two
s i n g u l a r p r o j e c t s . One o f them was s u p p o s e d t o examine t h e
way i n w h i c h p e o p l e r e s p o n d t o n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t s about
e c o n o m i c c r i m i n a l i t y . The o t h e r p r o j e c t was s u p p o s e d t o
o f i n f o r m a t i o n p r e s e n t e d a t an e x t e n d e d t r i a l . The
p a r t i c i p a n t s were n o t t o l d about t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between
t h e s e two p r o j e c t s .
The p a r t i c i p a n t s were t h e n randomly a s s i g n e d t o one
n o n - e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n and t o two e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n s . T h a t i s , t h e y were e i t h e r e x p o s e d t o v a r i o u s l y b i a s e d n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t s (NPRs), d e v o t i n g t h e p o s i t i v e and t h e n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n s , r e s p e c t i v e l y , and t h e m a i n s e s s i o n (MS) m a t e r i a l , o r m e r e l y t o t h e MS m a t e r i a l i n t h e n o n - e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n . P r i o r t o b e i n g e x p o s e d t o t h e MS m a t e r i a l , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e p o s i t i v e c o n d i t i o n were p r e - e x p o s e d t o NPR t h a t d e m o n s t r a t e d a f a v o u r a b l e b i a s t o w a r d s t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r . A n a l o g o u s l y , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n were p r e - e x p o s e d t o NPR t h a t d i s c r e d i t e d t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r . I n t h e n o n - e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s were not a t a l l e x p o s e d t o NPRs, o n l y t o t h e MS m a t e r i a l . A p p r o x i m a t e l y t w e n t y m i n u t e s a f t e r t h e e x p o s u r e t o t h e MS m a t e r i a l , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s were t o r e s p o n d t o a r e c a l l t e s t . A f t e r w a r d s , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n s w e r e , d u r i n g a c o f f e e b r e a k , e x p o s e d t o new c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y b i a s e d NPRs, a n d a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w e n t y m i n u t e s l a t e r t h e y were t o r e s p o n d t o t h e r e c o g n i t i o n t e s t s . T h i s m a n i p u l a t i o n was c a r r i e d out i n o r d e r t o i n v e s t i g a t e w h e t h e r t h e p r e - e x p o s u r e m a t e r i a l s h o u l d f u n c t i o n a s a s t r a i n e r f o r what w i l l be remembered o f t h e
m a i n s e s s i o n m a t e r i a l , e s p e c i a l l y with, r e s p e c t t o t h e
i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r . I t was presumed t h a t
i f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s w o u l d r e c a l l a n d / o r r e c o g n i z e g i v e n i t e m s o r s e n t e n c e s coming from t h e MS m a t e r i a l
d i f f e r e n t l y , t h a t i s , a s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e p r e - e x p o s u r e
c o n d i t i o n s , t h e i n f l u e n c e o f NPRs on t h e remembering o f
t h e MS m a t e r i a l c o u l d be e s t a b l i s h e d . A t t h i s s t a g e , i t
was assumed t h a t i t d o e s n o t r e a l l y m a t t e r what k i n d o f
f e e l i n g o r c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e c a s e c o u l d be formed on b a s i s o f t h e b i a s e d NPRs. The mere f a c t t h a t t h e NPRs c o u l d l e a d t o t h e f o r m a t i o n o f some k i n d o f c o n c e p t i o n s h o u l d h a v e a s a r e s u l t t h a t t h e c o n c e p t i o n formed w i l l be e n d u r i n g l y p r e s e r v e d i n memory ( c f . , S a n d b e r g , 1989) and h e n c e , s t a r t s t h e p r o c e s s o f c o u r t b e f o r e t h e commencement o f t h e t r i a l . I n P a p e r I , remembering o f t h e MS a n d t h e NPR m a t e r i a l s was m e a s u r e d b y means o f a f i n a l c u e d r e c a l l
t e s t . I n P a p e r I I , remembering was m e a s u r e d by means o f a
r e c o g n i t i o n t e s t a n d t h e r e c o g n i t i o n p e r f o r m a n c e i n t u r n
was a n a l y z e d by means o f t h e s e r i a l p o s i t i o n c u r v e .
F i n a l y , i n P a p e r I I I , remembering was a l s o m e a s u r e d by means o f a r e c o g n i t i o n t e s t composed o f t h r e e r e c o g n i t i o n
p h a s e s ( i . e . , A, B, a n d C ) . I n p h a s e A, t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s
were t o r e c o g n i z e a n e q u a l amount o f s e n t e n c e s coming from
t h e f i r s t e x p o s e d NPR a n d t h e MS m a t e r i a l . I n p h a s e B, 25
p e r c e n t o f t h e MS a n d t h e NPR s e n t e n c e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y ,
19 r e c o g n i z e d . The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f s e n t e n c e s was t h e same i n
p h a s e C, y e t w i t h t h a t d i f f e r e n c e t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h i s p h a s e r e c e i v e d i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t h e made-up s e n t e n c e s . Summary o f t h e e m p i r i c a l r e s u l t s A l a r g e number o f e x p e r i m e n t s i n d i f f e r e n t s e t t i n g s h a v e shown t h a t i d e a s ( c f . , news r e p o r t s ) p l a n t e d i n p e o p l e ' s minds c a n i n f l u e n c e t h e i r s u b s e q u e n t t h i n k i n g ( e . g . , A n d e r s o n , L e p p e r , & R o s s , 1980; A n d e r s o n & S c h e l e r ,
1986; G a b r i e l c i k & F a z i o , 1983; R o s s , L e p p e r , & Hubbard, 1975; L o r d , R o s s , & L e p p e r , 1 9 7 9 ) . T h e s e f i n d i n g s were u s e d a s a g r o u n d f o r t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t t h e c o n c e p t i o n formed on b a s i s o f t h e NPRs w i l l f u n c t i o n a s a t r a n s f e r o f l e a r n i n g o f t h e MS m a t e r i a l . The c o n s i s t e n c y / i n c o n s i s t e n c y d i m e n s i o n B e c a u s e t h e d i m e n s i o n s o f c o n s i s t e n c y / i n c o n s i s t e n c y , o r s i m i l a r i t y / d i s s i m i l a r i t y o f t h e e x p o s u r e m a t e r i a l were i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r s i n t h e q u a s i - e x p e r i m e n t a l m a n i p u l a t i o n , t h e way i n w h i c h t h e m a t e r i a l s were s i m i l a r o r d i s s i m i l a r must be d i s c u s s e d f u r t h e r . S i m i l a r i t y b e t w e e n s t i m u l u s m a t e r i a l i s u s u a l l y s p e c i f i e d i n t e r m s o f some m e a s u r a b l e a t t r i b u t e : The number o f e q u i v a l e n t s e n t e n c e s ( i . e . , e l e m e n t s i n common), t h e t i m e o f e x p o s u r e ( i . e . , c o n t i n u o u s d i m e n s i o n ) , t h e
amount o f words ( i . e . , p h y s i c a l d i m e n s i o n ) , e t c . I n t h i s c a s e , none o f t h e s e m e a s u r a b l e a t t r i b u t e s was a c t u a t e d , n o t b e c a u s e t h e y were r e g a r d e d a s e n t i r e l y u n i m p o r t a n t , b u t b e c a u s e t h e y were assumed t o be o f s e c o n d a r y i m p o r t a n c e f o r t h e p u r p o s e c o n t e m p l a t e d . I t seems t o be u n l i k e l y t h a t p e o p l e i n g e n e r a l p r i m a r i l y c a r e a b o u t t h e p h y s i c a l a t t r i b u t e s m e n t i o n e d . W h i l e l i s t e n i n g t o , o r r e a d i n g some s t o r y , p e o p l e a r e l i s t e n i n g o r r e a d i n g i n o r d e r t o f i g u r e o u t what t h e s t o r y i s a b o u t ; o r what k i n d o f message o r i n f o r m a t i o n i s t r a n s f e r r e d by i t . F i g u r i n g o u t what t h e s t o r y i s a b o u t o c c u r s i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e meaning t h e s t o r y h o l d s f o r a n i n d i v i d u a l , n o t p r i m a r i l y i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e p h y s i c a l a t t r i b u t e s . Hence, t h e s i m i l a r i t y o r c o n s i s t e n c y b e t w e e n s t i m u l u s m a t e r i a l c a n a l s o b e m e a s u r e d i n t e r m s o f t h e
message o r t h e meaning s p r i n g i n g from t h e m a t e r i a l ( c f . , B a t e s o n , 1972; W i l d e n , 1 9 8 0 ) . A l s o , i n agreement w i t h
McKoon ( 1 9 7 7 ) , meaning may be t h e most p e r s i s t e n t
a t t r i b u t e i n p a r t b e c a u s e i t i s t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t
p e o p l e a r e most i n t e n t on remembering. Thus, t h e meaning
o r t h e message s p r i n g i n g from t h e e x p o s u r e m a t e r i a l was
t h e s i m i l a r i t y a c c o u n t e d f o r i n t h e p r e s e n t t h e s i s .
The s i m i l a r i t y o f t h e e x p o s u r e m a t e r i a l
P o n d e r i n g t h a t t h e n e g a t i v e l y b i a s e d NPRs and t h e MS
m a t e r i a l , r e s p e c t i v e l y , s u p p l i e d t h e message a b o u t t h e
21 u n f a v o u r a b l e e v i d e n c e a g a i n s t him, t h e two m a t e r i a l s were
r e g a r d e d a s s i m i l a r ( i . e . , c o n s i s t e n t ) i n t h a t r e s p e c t .
Whereas t h e p o s i t i v e l y b i a s e d NPRs m e d i a t i n g t h e message
o f m i s t r u s t a b o u t w h e t h e r t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r a c t u a l l y was
i n v o l v e d i n t h e c r i m e o r n o t a s w e l l a s m e d i a t i n g t h e
message o f c o n s p i r a c y a g a i n s t him, were r e g a r d e d a s
d i s s i m i l a r ( i . e . , i n c o n s i s t e n t ) t o t h e MS m a t e r i a l . A c c o r d i n g t o , f o r i n s t a n c e , K o z m i n s k y ( 1 9 7 7 ) , c o n s i s t e n t i n f o r m a t i o n i s b e t t e r r e c a l l e d t h a n i n c o n s i s t e n t i n f o r m a t i o n . Thus, t h e n e g a t i v e l y b i a s e d NPRs b e i n g c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e MS m a t e r i a l were e x p e c t e d t o i m p r o v e remembering o f t h e MS i t e m s a b o u t t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r o f t h e c r i m e . Whereas t h e p o s i t i v e l y b i a s e d NPRs b e i n g i n c o n s i s t e n t ( i . e . , t h r o w i n g doubt a b o u t t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r ' s i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e c r i m e ) w i t h t h e MS m a t e r i a l , were e x p e c t e d t o d e c r e a s e remembering o f t h e MS i t e m s about t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r . A l s o , n o n - e x p o s u r e t o NPR was e x p e c t e d t o l e a d t o a b e t t e r remembering o f t h e MS i t e m s t h a n i n t h e p o s i t i v e c o n d i t i o n , due t o t h e a b s e n c e o f c o m p e t i n g v i e w s a s w e l l a s due t o t h e l o w e r i n f o r m a t i o n l o a d . The e f f e c t s o f c o n t e n t b i a s o r t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e c o n s i s t e n c y h y p o t h e s i s I n P a p e r I , none o f t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s d e s c r i b e d above was f u l f i l l e d . I t was f o u n d t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n o n - e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n r e c a l l e d t h e MS i t e m s s i g n i f i c a n t l y
w o r s e t h a n t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e p o s i t i v e a n d n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . No d i f f e r e n c e was f o u n d b e t w e e n t h e two e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n s . The r e s u l t s o f P a p e r I I , showed s i g n i f i c a n t l y b e t t e r r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e e x p o s u r e m a t e r i a l i n t h e p o s i t i v e t h a n i n t h e n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n . N e i t h e r i n t h i s c a s e , t h e n o t i o n o f t h e e f f e c t s o f c o n s i s t e n c y on r e m e m b e r i n g was s u p p o r t e d . I n P a p e r I I I , i t was found t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n o n - e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n r e c o g n i z e d t h e MS s e n t e n c e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y b e t t e r t h a n t h o s e i n t h e n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n , y e t on a p a r w i t h t h o s e i n t h e p o s i t i v e c o n d i t i o n . A l s o , h e r e t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e p o s i t i v e c o n d i t i o n r e c o g n i z e d t h e MS s e n t e n c e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y b e t t e r t h a n t h o s e i n t h e n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n . T h e r e a r e t h r e e p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s o f t h e c o n s i s t e n c y f a i l u r e : The schema a c t i v a t i o n , t h e v a r i o u s p r o c e s s i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s i n v o l v e d i n r e c a l l and r e c o g n i t i o n , r e s p e c t i v e l y , o r a c o m b i n a t i o n o f t h o s e . G i v e n t h e i n s t r u c t i o n t o e s t i m a t e t h e e t h i c s o f t h e NPRs, t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s p r o b a b l y formed some k i n d o f c o n c e p t i o n ( i . e . , a c t i v a t e a schema) o f t h e c a s e . B e c a u s e p e o p l e seem t o make u s e o f a n t i c i p a t o r y s c h e m a t a t o g u i d e a s e a r c h f o r c e r t a i n k i n d s o f s t i m u l u s ( c f . , N e i s s e r , 1 9 7 6 ) , t h e s c h e m a t a a c t i v a t e d i n t h e e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n s c o u l d i m p r o v e r e c a l l o f t h e MS i t e m s . On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n o n - e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n m i s s i n g t h e
o p p o r t u n i t y t o a c t i v a t e any schema b e f o r e b e i n g exposed, t o
t h e MS m a t e r i a l , seem t o be l e f t w i t h a r e c a l l
d i s a d v a n t a g e compared t o t h o s e p a r t i c i p a n t s who a c t i v a t e d
a schema. The r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d i n P a p e r I , may be
s u p p o r t e d by A l b a and H a s h e r ( 1 9 8 3 ) , who s u g g e s t e d t h a t ".. t h e r e a r e s u b s t a n t i a l e f f e c t s o f a schema on t h e amount t h a t i s r e c a l l e d a s w e l l a s on t h e c o n t e n t t h a t i s r e c a l l e d . , (p. 2 1 3 ) " . However, A l b a , A l e x a n d e r , H a s h e r , & C a n i g l i a ( 1 9 8 1 ) , d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t an a c t i v a t e d schema d o e s not b e n e f i t r e c o g n i t i o n a s i t d o e s r e c a l l f o r a v a r i e t y o f s t i m u l u s m a t e r i a l s , i n c l u d i n g p r o s e . A l b a e t a l . , (1981) a l s o showed t h a t t h e d i s a d v a n t a g e o f an i n a c t i v a t e d schema f o r
r e c a l l d i s a p p e a r s when memory i s t e s t e d by means o f a
r e c o g n i t i o n p r o c e d u r e . A l s o , C h i e s i , S p i l i c h , and V o s s (1979) showed t h a t r e c o g n i t i o n v a r i e s m i n i m a l l y a s a f u n c t i o n o f schema a c t i v a t i o n . S t i l l , i n P a p e r s I I and I I I , t h e r e c o g n i t i o n seemed t o v a r y a s a f u n c t i o n o f schema a c t i v a t i o n . G i v e n t h e message s i m i l a r i t y b e t w e e n t h e n e g a t i v e l y b i a s e d NPRs and t h e MS m a t e r i a l , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n s h o u l d r e c o g n i z e t h e MS s e n t e n c e s b e t t e r t h a n t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e p o s i t i v e c o n d i t i o n . They d i d n o t . The
q u e s t i o n i s why? A l t h o u g h i t was shown t h a t s u b j e c t s
p r e f e r e n t i a l l y r e c a l l t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e i r p e r s p e c t i v e a t e n c o d i n g ( e . g . , K o z m i n s k y , 1977;
o b t a i n e d u s i n g a r e c o g n i t i o n t e s t , t h a t i s , s u b j e c t s s e l e c t e d i t e m s t h a t were c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e theme b i a s e d d u r i n g e n c o d i n g ( S c h a l l e r t , 1976) . P r y o r a n d K r i s s (1977) a l s o f o u n d i n a s t u d y c o n c e r n e d w i t h s a l i e n c e o f words, t h a t s a l i e n c e l e d t o q u i c k e r r e c o g n i t i o n , b u t d i d n o t i n f l u e n c e volume o f r e c a l l . Or, t h e e f f e c t s on r e c o g n i t i o n o b t a i n e d may a l s o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e c o n t e n t s o f t h e p o s i t i v e l y b i a s e d NPRs were more s a l i e n t ( i . e . , u n u s u a l ) t h a n t h e c o n t e n t s o f t h e n e g a t i v e l y b i a s e d NPRs. Thus, t h e y c o u l d s i m p l y be e n c o d e d i n a more e a s i l y r e t r i e v a b l e form t h a n t h e n e g a t i v e l y b i a s e d NPRs ( c f . , C a r v e r & S c h e i e r , 1 9 8 1 ) . T h e r e i s an a d d i t i o n a l p o s s i b i l i t y , namely, t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e p o s i t i v e c o n d i t i o n a c t u a l l y c o u l d form a n e g a t i v e c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e l e a d i n g a c t o r b e c a u s e t h e s e NPRs c o u l d h a v e b e e n p e r c e i v e d a s i n t e n t i o n a l l y p e r s u a d i n g . Moreover, g i v e n t h a t r e c o g n i t i o n t e s t s a r e more s e n s i t i v e i n d i c a t o r s o f what i n f o r m a t i o n was s t o r e d a n d t h u s i s a v a i l a b l e f o r r e t r i e v a l , and t h a t r e c a l l i n g e n e r a l i s s u p p o s e d t o m e a s u r e t h e a c c e s s i b i l i t y o f i n f o r m a t i o n s t o r e d i n memory ( T u l v i n g & P e a r l s t o n e , 1 9 6 6 ) ,
may, t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e h y p o t h e s i s about schema a c t i v a t i o n ,
e x p l a i n t h e d i f f e r e n t r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d i n r e c a l l and
r e c o g n i t i o n , r e s p e c t i v e l y . T h a t i s , t h e schema a c t i v a t e d
d u r i n g t h e e x p o s u r e t o t h e f i r s t b i a s e d NPRs might n o t
o n l y f a c i l i t a t e t h e a s s i m i l a t i o n o f t h e MS m a t e r i a l b u t
25 r e c o g n i t i o n i s p r o b a b l y a more d i a g n o s t i c t e s t t h a n r e c a l l i n t h e s e n s e o f b e i n g a more s e n s i t i v e i n d i c a t o r o f what i n f o r m a t i o n was s t o r e d . I f t r u e , r e c o g n i t i o n s h o u l d a l s o i n d i c a t e w h e t h e r v a r i o u s c o n c e p t i o n s o f t h e c a s e were formed d u r i n g t h e p r e - e x p o s u r e t o t h e b i a s e d NPRs. The e f f e c t s on r e c o g n i t i o n o b t a i n e d seem s u p p o r t t h a t h y p o t h e s i s . The f a c t t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n o n - e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n r e c o g n i z e d t h e MS s e n t e n c e s on a p a r w i t h t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e p o s i t i v e c o n d i t i o n and a l s o s i g n i f i c a n t l y b e t t e r t h a n t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n e g a t i v e c o n d i t i o n ( s e e P a p e r I I I ) , may be u n d e r s t o o d i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e f a c t t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n o n - e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n were t o r e s p o n d t o f e w e r r e s p o n s e c a t e g o r i e s t h a n t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e e x p o s u r e c o n d i t i o n s . Moreover, how c a n we be s u r e t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s
r e a l l y a c t i v a t e any schema? I t was f o u n d t h a t a m a j o r i t y
o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n b o t h c o n d i t i o n s j u d g e d t h e NPRs a s u n e t h i c a l ( s e e F i g u r e 1 ) . T h i s r e s u l t may i n d i c a t e a s i m i l a r schema a c t i v a t i o n . I n s e r t F i g u r e 1 about h e r e The j u d g e m e n t s o f t h e NPRs o b t a i n e d may r e f l e c t t h e h o s t i l e media phenomenon c o i n e d by V a l l o n e e t a l . ( 1 9 8 5 ) , w h i c h r e f e r t o t h e common t e n d e n c y t o b e l i e v e , o f t e n i n c o r r e c t l y , t h a t t h e media i s b i a s e d . T h u s , t h e r e s u l t s
may r e f l e c t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s ' schema o f n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t s
r a t h e r t h a n t h e i r schema o f t h e c a s e . S t i l l , t h e h o s t i l e
media phenomenon d o e s n o t seem t o a v e r t t h e f o r m a t i o n o f
c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e c a s e . I t seems t h a t t h e mere e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e e f f e c t s o f s i m i l a r i t y on remembering, may be u n s a t i s f a c t o r y u n t i l we h a v e a l s o g r a s p e d what s i g n i f i c a n c e o r message t h e m a t e r i a l o f f e r s t o p e o p l e . H e r e t o f o r e , a n a l y z i n g t h e r e s u l t s g r a d u a l l y , t h e u n c e r t a i n t y a b o u t what c o g n i t i v e p r o c e s s e s a c t u a l l y were o p e r a t i n g i n t h e v a r i o u s m e a s u r e s , i s s u b s t a n t i a l . C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t i n P a p e r I , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s were t o r e c a l l a p a r t i c u l a r i t e m , w h e r e a s i n P a p e r s I I and I I I , t h e y were n o t o n l y t o r e c o g n i z e a p a r t i c u l a r s e n t e n c e , b u t a l s o t o d e c i d e w h i c h s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n t h e s e n t e n c e b e l o n g e d t o . The p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t a l s o a d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g p r o c e s s was i n v o l v e d i s a p p a r e n t . The s e n t e n c e t o be r e c o g n i z e d c o u l d f u n c t i o n a s a c u e f o r d e c i d i n g t h e s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n . A l t h o u g h i t seems t o be d i f f i c u l t t o d e t e r m i n e what c o g n i t i v e p r o c e s s e s were i n v o l v e d , i t a p p e a r s t h a t a t l e a s t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a l b i a s o f t h e NPRs d e t e r m i n e d t h e r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e e x p o s u r e m a t e r i a l . I n sum, t h e p r e - e x p o s u r e t o t h e b i a s e d NPRs a p p e a r e d t o i m p r o v e t h e a c c e s s i b i l i t y o f t h e MS i t e m s a s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e schema a c t i v a t i o n , w h e r e a s t h e l a c k o f t h e p r e - e x p o s u r e t o NPR seemed t o make r e c a l l o f t h e MS i t e m s
more d i f f i c u l t . Moreover, i t seems t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s
