L

.'

'.

'.

,

..

•

f-

THE ACQUISITION AND USE OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE STORY SCHEMA

(

By.

ROSEMARY ELAINE YOUNG, B.A., M.A.

Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies

in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements...

for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

McMaster University

© 19..83 by Rosemary, Elaine Young

i11l

,'.

,.

THE ACQUISITION AND USE OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE STORY SCHEMA

)

\

•

.., .

TITLE: The Acquisition and Use of Kno'ilEldge about the Stor.y Schema..,.

..

I,l

i1,

. ,

McMASTER UNIVERSITYHamilton, Ontario

!

•

AUTHOR: Rosemary Elaine Young, B.A. (McMaster University)

U M.A. (University of Toronto)

SUPERVISOR: Prof~ Ian M. Beg~

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (1983).(Psychology )

NUMBER OF PAGES: xiii,.190

..•

. , ,.

I

• I

(ii)

I..J

/

ABSTRACTj

The general purpose of this thesis was to examine the process of

acquiring knowledge about the story flchema and the ability to use that

knowledge to understand and remember stories. At a more specific level,

the thesis examined the effects of experience with stories in the

preschool years on the acquisition and use of knOwled~e about the

structure of stories.

Experiments land 2 assessed the hypothesis that there are

social class differences in 4- and 6-year-old children's knowledge of, .

the story schema, and in their ability to comprehend and reca~l stories.

When middle-class children describe and tecall pictur~ries,~

emphasize the aspects of the pictu!es that ar~ central to the gist of

the story. Lower-class children emphasize inessential details, include

many spurious statements, and seldom note relationships bet~een, '

pictures'. In a rearrangement task, only the middle-class children

schematize scrambled stories into a sequence th:t is strongly related to

the original story.

Experiment 3· investigated the effect of an intervention program

on 4-year~old lower-clas~ children's knowledge of the st~ry schema and

ability to understand and remember stories. There were no differences

~-

between children in the experimental group and two'control groups prior

to treatment. After 26 traditional picture stories, were read to them,

children in the experimental group describe, recall -an~rearrange

(iii)

•

I '

.stories like their middle-class age-peers in Experiment 1. Children in

class children's achievement in the story-laden primary grades are

empirically investigating the process of acquiring knowledge about the

differe~ce. and the effe~tive intervention program may have for lower-

th 1 h h.,

e contro groups s ow no suc unprovement. i

II

·1,

-the theoretical implications of identifyin& a ~ethod of'

conaidere>:!.. .

story schema' are discussed. The educatiopal implications that the class

•

•

./

•

'\

(iv)

U,_

I

---_.- _..._---- -------

•

Acknowledgements

____. _ •• u

,"

The research repo;ted in this thesrs could not have been

completed'if'others had not been generous with their knowledge and their

time. The original thesis proposal was completed under the supervision

of the late Professor Glenn Macdonald at the University of Toronto.

final design of the first twa experiments is. th~ product of many

fruitful hours of discussion with Professor Macdonald. The actual

The.¥

completion of the first two experiments, however, as well as the desig~

snd execution of the third experiment would not have been possible

~ithout the supervision of Professor Ian Begg. 'Ian has the rare talent

of effectively combining ~he roles ofche appropriately harsh critic,

the supportive supervisor and the friend. I personally, 8S well as the. . ~.

thesis, .pave benefitted &!,eatly from my intersctions with him throughout. .' ~ .

my tenure as a student at~cMaster. The other members of my thes1s

committee, Dr. Linda Siegel and,Dr. Richard Bourhi~, deserve thanks for

their ,comments on my progress reports and my' thesis.

Maureen Segato was a*most receptive listener for all the

children. She displayed the same enthu~iasm when hearing about a story

with a frog i~ it op the four-hundredth occ~sion as she did on the

first. Maureen also transcribed and coded protocols for reliability

purposes. The many hours she spent on the often snowy roads between

Hamilton and Toronto, and her skill at catching and holding frogs.that

were hoppi~g to the principal's office also must be acknowledged.

(v)

____n _

, t_'- r

Finally, h~r friendship and constant encouragement of~ academic

endeavours h~ve been important, especially during the past three years •.,

Donal~ Rutledge, the Associate Directo~ of the Board of'

Education for the City of Toronto, played a majo~ role in obtaining•

permission for me to conduct the research in the partici9ant schools in\

Toronto. He also read my thesis proposal and progress reports, offered

insightful c~mments on them, and displayed his enthusiasm about the

potential ,theoretical ,and education implic~tions of the research.

The children who were "involved in the studies reported in this

/

0"

thesis and their'parents are 'thanked for their\:articipation.

cooperation and assistance of the supervi8~r9, principals and

The

teaching

L

d

staff at all the schools involved in the study also is.gratefully

acknowledged. Special thanks are due to Donald Urquhart, the principal,,

and to Rosemary Morton, the teacher, who willingly agreed to tolerate'.

the months of disruption that were an inevitable part of the

intervention study reported in this thesis.,I am grateful to my friends, Bev Bardy, Gordon Hayman, Janet

Olds,... Helen Rypma and'Harvey Weingarten, all of whom contribu'ted to the

'completion of this thesis in less obvious, but important ways. ,pon'

Shattuck is thanked for helping ~nd for enduring,

Finally, my acknowledgements would not be complete if 1 did not

mention my family, especially my parents. The 'love, support (emotiona~

and financial) and encouragement that my mother and father have given me

has carried me through this, venture as well as many others. The other

(vi)

. 1,,: r.~'

i,I"

I1II

--------- ------_ .._----_.----

Youngs; BarbarQ, 'Martin, David·and Pat, also have contributed to this

supportive environment. My father deserves additional thanks for his

careful reading of the thesis and the numerous comments he made on my

use and abuse of the English l.;tnguage •.

While this research was being designed and conducted, I was

support~d by Social Sciences and Humanities' Research CQuncil of Canada

Doctoral Fellowships and a Quee~ Elizabeth II Ontario Scholar~hip•

.....J

•

(vii)

•(

LiBt of TableB

Table of ContentB

/........................................................... x

i

.\,List of Figures '. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . xi

LiBt of AppendiceB •• ~ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• t ••••\ •••••• xiii

Introduction ........................ . ., .. 1

·Bartlett'B InveBtigationB of ~emory for StorieB and theBtory Bchema ••.••••••••••••..•.••• ..• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3

. . ~

Revival of IntereBt'in the Structure of StorieB. Story,COmprehenB ion and St ory Me\"ory •••••••••••••••••••••••• 6

Current,ApproacheB in ReBearch on the Story Schema andth~ Cognitive ProceBBing of StorieB 10........... ~ "\ ..

KintBch 'B PropoBitional RepreBentation of Meaning •••••• '.' 13

The KintBcq lnd van Dijk Approach to the Story Schemaand the Cognitive ProceBBing of StorieB ••••••••••••••• 16•

.....

.The Story GraIDlDar Models ............................. •-• •"......,_ • .. • .. .. ... 25

Adults' UBe of the Story Schema and'Prior'Knowledge inStory.ComprehenBion, Recall and Summarization •••••••• ~ 28(A) The Story Schema and Importanae LevelB •••••••••••• 29(B) The Role o,f Prior' Knowle~ge in Story ComprehenBion.

and Rec'all .... "."............................................................. 33

Scoring

Presen t ~R"",e:.;B:.e~_",,~ ..

Subjects .•.............•............•......•...•..•...St itD1.l1us Mat.erials .......•..................... ......•..Procedure ~ ~ '.•..................• : .Adult Sample ~ ..........• ; ...•....... ~.

\j:i,

45

7375767980

73

59

63

r Knowledge

............................................... , ..I .

.. .. eo .

•

Method

Children'B UBe of the Story. Schemain Story ComprehenBion and Reca

'.ExperimentB I and II

•

, .

(viii)

L

•

Results , ............ •••••••••••••••• 0° • 84

Rearrangement of Scrambled,ItStories" •••••••••••••••Total Number of Responses ••• , •••••••••••••••••••••• I ••

JResponse Type Analysis' ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• t

Story Statements ••••••••••••••• 1·1 •••.•- ••••••• : .

NarJ:ative conventions •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Narrative Category or Macrostructure Analysis ••••.•.•

111112114115115116116

84'86879193

• 93

111

96-,.103

.........

....................................

...... or'

• • • • • • • • • • • • , 0, •••••••••••

.............................. .. .. ..............................

SubjectsPre-Treatment Procedures : •.•.• ~ .Treatment Procedures ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Post-Treatment Procedures •• "' • •. . • •••.•..••••..•••Interval Between "Testings H' ..

At tendance •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••oJ•••••••••

Sc' or1"ng .............................................

Method

Discussion

Experiment III

,1,­I

)

Results ................................................ 117

119120122122125126127128131

132

144

158

...............

.........................................

.~ .

PPVT Score.s ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Rearrangement of Scrambled "Stories" .Total Number of Responses • •• • ••••••••••••••••Response Type Analysis" •• H H,' H .. H ..

Story State1U~nt8 ••••••• ," •••••••••••••••••.•••••••• , ••••Narrati...e Conventions •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Retention ••••••••••••••••••.••••••.••.••.•.••••.•••••.~arrative Category or Macrostructure Analysis •••••••••Recall Order

Discussion

Reference Notes

•••••••••••••••••••••••" ••••••••••••••••••• t •

'"Conclusions, Implications and Future Research

,

References ......: . 159

(ix) •

•

•...

,-.~

·Table 1.

List of Tables

•'r- "Narrative strnc re of Frog on His Own(Mayer " 1973) ... t_ ••••••••• ',' ••••••••••••••••••"•••

FollOwingPage

82

..

I

Table 2. Mean numb~; of statements in description.andrecall ~ , . 86

Table 3. Proportion of core statemen~ in description Qndrecall ; .., . ,89 , "

r

Table 4. Proportion of spurious statements in description"and reca11 . 90

Mean nUmber of retained core statements •••••••••••

Average number of statements per'n$rrative categoryin recall of normal and scrambled stories ••••••••••

Mean number of spurious statements in descriptionand recall ,•....•...............••........

91

93

~5:{,

122

123

124

125

126

127

129

Jrecall ....

of core and'extra story'statements inand recall ..... ~ ... t., • :'.'~ .... , • ~ ••••• -•••

"

. .

Average number of statements per narrative categoryin reca11,of~no,rmal.and scrambled storie9::Z:.~••• ~,

Mean number' of, statements in description 'andrecall ~ ~ ~ ..•......,

Narrative conventions in description and

•Mean number of core statements iri description and,reca11 : ~ ......•... ;, ' ~ ;,'.' .

Co~ry statements in description andir~call •••. "----- '.

Mean number of narrative conventions 'in description. ,and rectll "'t"• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Mean number'desllript ion

T.able 14.

Table 13.

Table 5.

Table 6.

• Table 7.

Table 8.

Table 9.

Table 10.

L'f'

Table 1r.

Table 12.

• (x)

"

L ,-

Number of statements in description as a functionof experimental condition .. (.: : .

Proportiod of core statements in description as afunctioh of experimental condition ..••••.••..••..

List of Figures

IFigure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

The Frog on His Own (Mayer, ~torYFollowing

Page

.... . '. • . . . 82

86

88

recall as a

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

F~gure'6.

Figure 7.

Figure-B.

Figure 9.

Proportion of spurious statements in descriptiona~ a function of experimental ~ondition ••••••.....

•Number of core story statements infunction of experimental condition

Average number of responses in recall of normalstories for each narrative category 8S a functionof social class ...•. : •.•.....•......••..•....••.•. ,

Average number of responses in recall of scrambledstories for each na~ative category as a functionof 8o.~ial class - .

Number of statements as a function of testing timeand condition for description and recall •••••••••

Core stateme~n description and recall as afunction of experimental group and testing time

90

92

95

95

122

123

Figure 10. Spurious statements in description and recall as afunction of experimental group and testing time 124

Figure 11. Core story statements in description and recall asa.function of 'experimental group and testingtime _._ .•.•.•.... ~.......•........, ,.... 125

,Figur~ 12.'

" ,

Narrative conventions in recall as a function ofexperimental group. testing time and story order 126

l

Figure 13. Retention of core statements as a function oftreatment group and testing time ••••••••••••••••• 127

.Figure 14. Mean number of responses in each narrativecategory fo~ retall of stories ••.•.•••••••••••••• 128

...J(xi)

, .t

\ .,

- .'.--~....-.-~,._-----

)

Figure 15. Average -number of statement~ per narrativecategory in recall of normal story as a functionof group and testing time........................ 129

Figure 16. Average number of statements pe~ narrativecategory in recall of scrambled story as afunction of experimental group and testing time 130

Figure 17. Number of children in each group recalling eachpicture in the normal story as a function of

'tl.me •••••••••••••••••••••.••• ,................... 131

Figure 18. Number of children in each group recalling eachpicture in the scrambled story as a function oftime 131..............................:.' .: .

•

\

•

.>

'.'

lList of Appendices

Appendix 1. Bartlett's (1932) War of the Ghosts .............. 181

Appendix II. Transcription and scoring manual .••••.•• ~ ••.••.•• 183

Appendix III. Stories used in Experiment III ••••••.••••.••••••• 188

(xiii)

c

INTRODUCTION ,

During the past decade, a number of investigators in the fields,

of cognitive~SYChOlOgy~ linguistics and artificial intelligence have

been attempting to describe the structure of the traditional story and

to delineate the cognitive processes that are used in story

~prehension and recall. In contrast, earlier studies of language

comprehension and memory concentrated on issues such as the grmmmatical

knowledge of an ide~lized speaker-listener and on how people learned

unrelated series of sentences, word lists and nonsense syllables. J

However, people,generally comprehend and remember series of related

words and sentences as they occur in conversations, stories, and

expository prose. Consequently, the present upsurge'of interest in the

comprehension and recall of stories is welcome: These recent studies

are investigating the cognitive processes that people use to understand

and remember materials they actually encounter on a regular basis.

In delivering the Sir Frederick Bartlett Memorial Lecture, Bower

(1976, p. 533) commented that the study of understanding and memory for1

stories is particularly exciting because it provides scientists with "an

experimental microcosm in which (is) revealed the operation of the most

sophisticated cognitive machine~y that men have assembled." Moreover,

as Bower indicates, such studies begin to close the traditional gap

between memory research and psycho1inguistics, personality, social and. .~ducati2na1 psycho'ogy. It seems 1ike1~ that children and adults

o

.1istening to or reading stories understand the plot of the story, the

1

:

,