title: Scene schemata and scripts in children's understanding of hospital.
abstract: In a first study, 90 children (aged 3-5 years) were shown a photograph of a hospital scene, and then asked to identify which of 12 separate items were present in the original scene. Children made more plausible than implausible errors, suggesting that they had well-organized schemata for hospital scenes. In a second study, we investigated children's knowledge of hospital-related routines and activities. A total of 152 children (aged 3-5, 6-8 and 9-10 years) were shown five photographs of hospital and five photographs of school, and asked to arrange each set to 'tell a story'. Children in different age groups showed relatively high agreement in their orderings, and also in selecting the 'most important photograph'. The data suggest that children's knowledge of hospital is organized around rudimentary schemata and scripts, which enable them to make very plausible inferences about hospital scenes and activities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter, England.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eiser
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Eiser
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002666:Psychology, Child