The effect of scripts on eyewitness memory.
Scripts organize information about events, roles, and actions into a schematic structure.
Eyewitnesses have been shown to use schema consistent expectations in order to support their memory for a crime. Short exposure rate and a long retention interval should result in a weak episodic memory. This study was conducted to identify people's scripts for a robbery of a convenience store. People were given an example of a restaurant script. Then they were told to list 12 actions that they believe might occur during a robbery of a convenience store.