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A scheme is a graphic or symbolic representation of the most significant aspects of material or immaterial things . The schemes can be made on theories, ideas, discourses, texts or approaches from various sources.
When we find ourselves with large amounts of information, it is very useful to use schemes to organize and categorize the information in an orderly manner. This facilitates its understanding and subsequent dissemination.
Background of the term
Within the field of psychology, there is talk of a scheme framed within the theory of cognitive development proposed by Jean Piaget in 1923. Piaget defined schemes as basic units of knowledge and that these are used to help people interpret the information they obtain. of the real world. According to Piaget, the mental schemes of individuals refine and become more complex as individuals acquire more knowledge.
For his part, in 1932, Frederic Bartlett reached conclusions similar to those of Piaget after studying how schemes influenced the memory of events. In this case, the schemes, apart from helping to understand the information, also helped to remember it. The new information that is captured by an individual will be analyzed according to the pre-existing schemes and will become part of them. If there is no schema into which the new information can be attached, then it will be easily forgotten.
Types of schemes
- Social schemes : they help us understand the sequence of events expected in the various social situations that we find ourselves in. They are also known as scripts, by analogy with scripts for plays that tell actors what to do and what to say. According to these schemes we know that if we are going to go to a restaurant we should use the main entrance and not the staff entrance, sit at an empty table, wait for the waiter to come to take the order, the words we should use to communicate what we want to eat and other essential steps in the interaction of the place.
- Role schemes : these cover the behavior and expectations of people according to the social role they play. If we continue with the example of the restaurant, we expect the waiter to be cordial and attend to our needs with kindness, since he occupies a service role in which we expect these behaviors.
- Identity schemes of people and things : these schemes are created to help us identify and understand specific people or groups of people, such as the couple; or to identify inanimate objects and how they work, such as what a car is and how it is used.
Assimilation and accommodation
Jean Piaget suggested that through the processes of assimilation and accommodation, the schemes we already have are modified, to make them more complex and refined. Through assimilation we apply existing schemas to new information to try to understand it, and through accommodation this schema is modified and adjusted accordingly to accommodate the new information.
Schemas, learning and memory
We use the schemes to interpret and incorporate new information into our memory, in this sense, the schemes are a very useful tool because without them we would feel great confusion when faced with any new information in our lives.
However, these are the ones that can negatively affect the way we interpret information. Sometimes we can distort the information to fit the schemes we already have, even if they are not the most appropriate. This gives way to misinterpretations of reality and can in turn become the source of future confusion for the individual and those around him.
These same misinterpretations of reality can be permanently transferred to memory. In a 1981 study, 30 participants were brought into a room for a short period of time. Then, in a second room, they were asked to describe what they remembered about the first room they had been in. Those with well-established “office” schemas were able to recall the most common objects like chair and desk. However, they could not remember those objects that do not usually fit into the scheme, such as a bulletin board that was in the room. In addition, it was possible to observe that the participants “filled” the memories with objects that fit into the office scheme, even though they were not there, such as books.
The study then indicates that we notice and remember better the things that fit into the schemes that we already have established. If, for example, we have established the aptitude scheme of a trustworthy individual, all those individuals who do not fit into our scheme are going to suffer some kind of prejudice on our part without ever needing to have betrayed our trust.
The importance of analyzing our schemes
Schemas can occur automatically: we can learn schemas at an early age and never be aware of their existence. It is important to have a moment of reflection in which we ask ourselves what are the schemes that govern our decisions, whether they are work or personal. This can help us identify the filters with which we are perceiving reality and can be a useful tool to change the perspective on a certain topic.
References
Kabato, I. (s/f). What is the mental scheme. Available at: https://www.psicoadapta.es/blog/que-es-el-esquema-mental/
Ramirez, R. (s/f). How do we organize information in our mind? Schemes and categories. Available at: https://psicologiaymente.com/inteligencia/organizamos-informacion-mente-esquemas-categorias
Cognitive Therapy. (s/f). Piaget: Cognitive schemes, assimilation and accommodation. Available at: https://www.terapia-cognitiva.mx/pdf_files/psicologa-cognitiva/clase6/Piaget%20Asimilacion%20y%20Acomodacion.pdf
