What Is a Schema in Psychology?

In psychology, a schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information. Simply put, a schema describes patterns of thinking and behavior that people use to interpret the world.

We use schemas because they allow us to take shortcuts in interpreting the vast amount of information that is available in our environment. Learn more about what a schema is, different types of schemas, their impact, challenges, and more.

Overview of Schemas

You may have heard the word schema as it relates to coding, where it refers to how a database is structured. While a schema in psychology still refers to how information is organized, it focuses on how the human mind does it.

Schemas are mental models found in long-term memory. The brain utilizes such models to organize information about the world. Schemas are essentially built from our memories of our unique experiences.

However, these mental frameworks also cause us to exclude pertinent information to focus instead only on things that confirm our pre-existing beliefs and ideas. Schemas can contribute to stereotypes and make it difficult to retain new information that does not conform to our established ideas about the world.

History of Schemas

The use of schemas as a basic concept was first used by a British psychologist named Frederic Bartlett as part of his learning theory. Bartlett's theory suggested that our understanding of the world is formed by a network of abstract mental structures.

Theorist Jean Piaget introduced the term schema, and its use was popularized through his work. According to his theory of cognitive development, children go through a series of stages of intellectual growth.

In Piaget's theory, a schema is both the category of knowledge as well as the process of acquiring that knowledge. He believed that people are constantly adapting to the environment as they take in new information and learn new things.

Schema Examples

Looking at an example can help you better understand what a schema is. Consider how a young child may first develop a schema for a horse. They know that a horse is large and has hair, four legs, and a tail. So, when the child encounters a cow for the first time, they might initially call it a horse.

After all, the cow fits in with their schema for the characteristics of a horse—it is a large animal that has hair, four legs, and a tail. Once the child is told that this is a different animal called a cow, they will modify their existing schema for a horse and create a new schema for a cow.

Now, let's imagine that the child encounters a miniature horse for the first time and mistakenly identifies it as a dog. The parents explain that the animal is actually a very small type of horse, so the child must modify their existing schema for horses. The child now realizes that while some horses are very large animals, others can be very small.

Types of Schemas

While Piaget focused on childhood development, schemas continue to form and change throughout life. Object schemas are just one type of schema that focuses on what an inanimate object is and how it works. People have all types of schemas for all kinds of information, including schemas about people, objects, places, events, and relationships.

For example, most people in industrialized nations have a schema for what a car is. Your overall schema for a car might include subcategories for different types of automobiles such as a compact car, sedan, or sports car.

The four main types of schemas are:

• Person schemas are focused on specific individuals. For example, your schema for your friend might include information about their appearance, behaviors, personality, and preferences.
• Social schemas include general knowledge about how people behave in certain social situations.
• Self-schemas are focused on your knowledge about yourself. This can include both what you know about your current self as well as ideas about your idealized or future self.
• Event schemas are focused on patterns of behavior that should be followed for certain events. This acts much like a script informing you of what you should do, how you should act, and what you should say in a particular situation.

How Schemas Change

The processes through which schemas are adjusted or changed are known as assimilation and accommodation.

Schemas tend to be easier to change during childhood but can become increasingly rigid and difficult to modify as people grow older. Schemas will often persist, even when people are presented with evidence that contradicts their beliefs.

In many cases, people will only begin to slowly change their schema when inundated with a continual barrage of evidence pointing to the need to modify it.

How Schemas Affect Learning

Schemas also play a role in education and the learning process. For example:

• Schemas influence what we pay attention to. People are more likely to pay attention to things that fit in with their current schemas.
• Schemas also impact how quickly people learn. People learn information more readily when it fits in with the existing schemas.
• Schemas help simplify the world. Schemas can often make it easier for people to learn about the world around them. New information could be classified and categorized by comparing new experiences to existing schemas.
• Schemas allow us to think quickly. Even under conditions when things are rapidly changing and new information is coming in quickly, people do not usually have to spend a great deal of time interpreting it. Because of the existing schemas, people can assimilate this new information quickly and automatically.
• Schemas can change how we interpret incoming information. When learning new information that does not fit with existing schemas, people sometimes distort or alter the new information to make it fit with what they already know.
• Schemas can be remarkably difficult to change. People often cling to existing schemas even in the face of contradictory information.

Challenges of Schemas

While the use of schemas to learn, in most situations, occurs automatically or with little effort, sometimes an existing schema can hinder the learning of new information. Prejudice is one example of a schema that prevents people from seeing the world as it is and inhibits them from taking in new information.

Consider how this might work for gender expectations and stereotypes. Everyone has a schema for what is considered masculine and feminine in their culture. Such schemas can also lead to stereotypes about how we expect men and women to behave and the roles we expect them to fill.

In one interesting study, researchers showed children images that were either consistent with gender expectations (such as a man working on a car and a woman washing dishes), while others saw images that were inconsistent with gender stereotypes (a man washing dishes and a woman fixing a car).

When later asked to remember what they had seen in the images, children who held very stereotypical views of gender were more likely to change the gender of the people they saw in the gender-inconsistent images. For example, if they saw an image of a man washing dishes, they were more likely to remember it as an image of a woman washing dishes.

Takeaways

Piaget's theory of cognitive development provided an important dimension to our understanding of how children develop and learn. Through the processes of adaptation, accommodation, and equilibration, we build, change, and grow our schemas, which provide a framework for our understanding of the world around us.