Effects of the reader's schema at different points in time

In 2 experiments, 215 high school sophomores and juniors and 71 undergraduates were instructed to take a distinctive point of view while reading and recalling a story. Perspectives assigned before reading, shortly after reading, and long after reading all had substantial effects on recall. Results are interpreted to mean that the schema brought into play by the perspective instructions selectively enhanced encoding when operative during reading and selectively enhanced retrieval when operative during attempts at recall. The schema operative during reading appeared to influence not only the likelihood that certain text elements would be learned but also their longevity in memory. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).