The Applicability of Schema Theory to Scientific Texts

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of content and formal schemata for processing the scientific texts which encompass the human knowledge of the physical world. In general, schema theory is based on the culture-oriented background of a text. From this point of view, the problem as to whether both content and formal schemata are applicable to the comprehension of a scientific text deserves a focal attention in terms of information processing modes. The results of empirical study indicate that whereas the universality of general knowledge content about the natural world attenuates the tenets of schema theory, the rhetorical organization of scientific texts encourages the application of the schema-based approach; the reader's familiarity with the structural patterns of a text facilitates his reading comprehension.