Schemas
The Basic Idea
If I asked you to imagine a brunch, what would you see? Perhaps you would picture a big plate of scrambled eggs, fried bacon, sausage, with a side of toast and a big glass of orange juice to wash it all down.
What if I asked how you would go about introducing yourself to a new person? You would probably respond with: ‘Hi, my name is (insert your name here), it’s nice to meet you’? Maybe you would continue by asking what their name was, and where they’re from.
Why do so many of us have similar concepts of brunch and similar scripts of introductions if we all lived through unique experiences? These generalizations occur because our world is too complex for our minds to process all the available information in our environment. Instead, our brains use shortcuts and frameworks, called schemas, to make it easier to organize knowledge and understand new information. Schemas allow us to simplify and allocate our limited mental capacities efficiently.1
Intelligence is not only the ability to reason; it is also the ability to find relevant material in memory and to deploy attention when needed.
– Daniel Kahneman
About the Author
Adrienne Fu
Adrienne Fu is a student at McGill University studying Economics, Computer Science, and Psychology. She is passionate about behavioural economics, particularly its intersection with consumer decision-making and UX Design. Outside of the (virtual) office, she enjoys film photography, reading, and taking care of her (many) plants.
