Scheme (psychology)

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A schema is an aid that humans use to assign a meaning to information that they receive through their sense organs. Schemas enable people to find their way around quickly and easily in any situation and to behave sensibly. It is only in surprising or particularly important situations that it is not schemas but controlled, conscious cognitions that guide action.

Schemas are contents of the implicit memory , are therefore "brought" into the respective situation, and determine through recognition ( top down ) through selection / filtering of the incoming information, its meaning and furthermore through storage and classification of the new knowledge. They also fill in gaps in information and decide how ambiguous stimuli are interpreted. Schemas thus control people's perception and information processing and, as a consequence, their actions. If reality shows differences to the active scheme, these are only perceived if they are very conspicuous, “not to be overlooked”. Jean Piaget (developmental psychologist 1896–1980) coined the term "scheme" to name a cognitive structure into which our experiences are classified. Basic work on schema research comes from Bartlett (1932) and Markus (1977). There is no uniform understanding of how the term schema can be distinguished from the terms script , representation , RIG or working model. Rather, there is strong overlap between the terms. Stern often referred to the work of Piaget and used the term schema for inner-psychic constructs of the pre-symbolic period, while representation used for constructs in the period of symbolization.

Technically described, a schema in psychology is a mental knowledge structure that contains information about a specific object or concept in an abstract, generalized form. Schemas are not to be understood as entities in memory, but as an illustration of how learned knowledge can be used in information processing.

Simplified description using analogy and example

analogy

Schemas can be understood as many differently labeled drawers in a cupboard in which the associated items are collected.

Application example

In publications, the "classic" example of the scheme application is described several times as the scheme for the "restaurant visit". The scheme includes features to distinguish, for example, a restaurant from a train station, and features of associated processes, such as reading the menu, ordering, eating, requesting a bill. Such a restaurant scheme controls people's expectations, guides their perception and controls their actions and interactions. When this scheme was acquired, it was still designed in a simple manner; later it can be differentiated to a large variety of domestic and foreign restaurants, with distinctions between one another. Schemas can not only take in information, interpret it and convert it into knowledge, they can also be used as an instrument for the systematic search for suitable information. For example, if people suspect that a building could be a restaurant, they may look for a menu on the notice board to check their assumption.

General functioning of schemes

  • Schemas can be activated explicitly or implicitly. One way to explicitly enable schemas would be to think about the contents of the schema; an implicit possibility would be the processing of information contained in the schema. For example, it is possible to activate the “aggressiveness” scheme when a person thinks about aggressiveness (explicitly), but also when the person reads a story about another person's aggressive behavior (implicitly).
  • Accessibility, i.e. the ease with which schemes can be activated, depends on the frequency of use. Frequently used schemes are more accessible than those that are not used as often. Easily accessible (i.e., easily activated) schemes are used to interpret information from the environment rather than those that are difficult to activate.
  • Schemas are independent cognitive entities. If a scheme is activated, it does not mean that a scheme with similar content is also activated.
  • Schemas contain information and can influence the interpretation of information. Ambiguous information is thus interpreted using the activated schema. If the “skinhead” scheme is activated for someone, for example by a bald person, the behavior of the person is interpreted using the information contained in the “skinhead” scheme, for example. This effect is known as " assimilation ".
  • Schemas can draw attention to schema-consistent or schema-inconsistent information, depending on the circumstances. Activated schemes can influence the memory of information if the actual memory of an event is not clear.

Perseverance

Even if someone already knows that a scheme is dysfunctional, it will still be maintained for as long as possible, a so-called perseverance effect . Knowledge therefore does not consist in receiving information, but in incorporating it into existing schemes, i.e., incorporating it into implicit memory . In the classic experiment by Ross, Lepper and Hubbard (1975), the test subjects were initially led to believe that they had done better than average (success feedback) or worse than average (failure feedback) in a test. Then they were told that this feedback was fictitious. In the actual test phase, the test subjects should now assess a) how good they actually were in the test and b) how good they would do in another test. Both self-assessments were found to be consistent with the purely random feedback on the first test; that is, the test subjects followed the statement of the feedback despite knowing that it was arbitrary.

If one's own behavior contributes to the perseverance of a scheme, one also speaks of a self-fulfilling prophecy .

Knowledge psychology

In knowledge psychology , Mandl and Spada define schemata as “knowledge structures” that are based on experience and represent “typical relationships in a realm of reality”.

According to this, schemes can be described according to six characteristics:

  • Schemas are cognitive structures for general knowledge in memory. These structures show how this knowledge is represented. Schemas organize typical relationships from the realm of reality.
  • Schemas have “spaces” that can be filled with different values.
  • Schemas can be interlinked.
  • Schemas have episodic and generic knowledge.
  • In addition to a structure, schemes also have a distinct process component.
  • The knowledge represented in the schemes is not restricted to individual content areas.

As with Quinn and Holland, a general distinction is made between schemes of perception and schemes of action. As "models of the world" they contain knowledge of interpretation and explanation. As “models for the world” they contain knowledge for solving problems and for action.

Levels of representation

The mapping of events in the memory of man representation called. The schemes serve to transform the information perceived by the sensory organs.

In addition to the innate representations such as the blink reflex and language competence , Karl-Heinz Flechsig can divide the representation into four levels based on learned schemata:

  1. episodic representation (simple facts: for example lighting a cigarette)
  2. categorical representation (abstract schemes: the idea of ​​a pack of cigarettes, of smoking, of the satisfaction of addiction). This level is connected to other levels.
  3. simple hypothetical representation (simple "cultural models" such as illness , property )
  4. complex hypothetical representation (" world views ", " human images ", " myths ", " life patterns ")

Social Aspects of Schemas

Schemas are presented individually, but cannot be viewed in isolation from social aspects. In a very generalized way, all schemes can be asked about three aspects:

  • How common are these schemes among members of a society?
  • How natural are these schemes among the members of this society?
  • What significance do the schemata have for understanding the world and behavior for the members of this society?

Alternative terms

Since the middle of 1980, the scientific processing of schematic theories in different scientific disciplines has received attention. There are contributions from the field of psychology, linguistics, computer science (research on artificial intelligence ), neurophysiology and knowledge theory. The use of language and the formation of theories show a great variety and there is currently no uniform definition of the schematic theory. Terms comparable to schemes are “script”, “ model ”, “pattern”, “scenario”, “context module ”, “ frame ” or “prototype”. The different theories can use the schema construct differently depending on the specific object. In the core statement (according to Mandl, p. 124), schemas are knowledge structures in which typical contexts of a realm of reality are represented on the basis of experience. Similarities exist in the common assumption of several stages or levels of the schema formation, whereby a connection or networking with one another is predominantly assumed.

psychotherapy

Aaron T. Beck , the founder of cognitive therapy , points out that the term scheme goes back to work by FC Bartlett (1932, 1958) and Jean Piaget (1926, 1952). Jean Piaget already distinguished between cognitive and affective schemata. According to Beck, Emery and Greenberg (1985) so-called negative cognitive schemata play a central role in the development of mental illness. You differentiate between two forms:

  • Unconditional assumptions: These are basic beliefs that are independent (absolute) of external conditions. An example of an unconditional assumption is: "I am not lovable."
  • Conditional assumptions: These are basic beliefs according to which something happens under certain conditions (conditions). It is an if-then connection (causal assumption). An example of this is: "When others see that I'm afraid, they will reject me."

Both forms would have different effects. Within the framework of the later developed schema therapy according to Jeffrey E. Young it is assumed that historically earlier schemas are unconditional assumptions about oneself and others, whereas later schemas are conditional. While Beck tried to work on cognitive schemas as part of cognitive therapy, Young, stimulated by Piaget, also focused on emotional schema components and developed schema therapy, in which he incorporated gestalt therapy techniques (such as "chair work").

See also

literature

  • Donald Davidson : What is a conceptual scheme? In: Donald Davidson: Truth and Interpretation. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1990, pp. 261-282.
  • ER Smith, S. Queller: Mental Representations. In: A. Tesser, N. Schwarz (Ed.): Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intraindividual processes. Blackwell Publishers, London 2001.
  • H. Mandl, H. Spada (Ed.): Knowledge Psychology. Munich / Weinheim 1988.
  • D. Holland, N. Quinn (Ed.): Cultural Models in Language and Thought. Cambridge Mass. 1987.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ E. Aronson, TD Wilson, RM Akert: Social Psychology. 4th edition. Pearson study. 2004, ISBN 3-8273-7084-1 .
  2. ↑ David G. Myers: Psychology . 3rd, completely revised u. exp. Edition. Springer, Heidelberg 2014, ISBN 978-3-642-40781-9 .
  3. ↑ Bartlett FC: Remembering. ( February 20, 2012 memento on the Internet Archive ) Cambridge University Press
  4. ^ HR Markus: Self-schemata and processing information about the self. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 35, pp. 63-78.
  5. ↑ Martha Koukkou, Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber: Remembering Realities: Inventory . Publishing house Internat. Psychoanalysis, 1998, ISBN 3-608-91954-6 , pp. 161 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  6. ↑ Christiane Ludwig-Körner: The concept of self in psychology and psychotherapy: A historical research . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-663-14648-3 , p. 308 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  7. ^ Eliot R. Smith, Sarah Queller: Mental Representations. In: Abraham Tesser, Norbert Schwarz (Ed.): Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Intraindividual Processes. Blackwell Publishing, 2002.
  8. ^ A b c d Karl-Heinz Flechsig: Cultural schemes and intercultural learning.
  9. ↑ Lee Ross, Mark Lepper, Michael Hubbard: Perseverance in self-perception and social perception: Biased attributional processes in the briefing paradigm. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 32, pp. 880-892.
  10. ^ MF Davies: Belief persistence after evidential discrediting: The impact of generated versus provided explanations on the likelihood of discredited outcomes . In: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 33, pp. 561-578.
  11. ↑ CA Anderson: Implicit personality theories and empirical data: Biased assimilation, belief perseverance and change, and covariation detection sensitivity. In: Social Cognition. 13, pp. 25-48.
  12. ↑ H. Mandl, H. Spada (ed.): Wissenspsychologie. Munich / Weinheim 1988, p. 124.
  13. ↑ Aaron T. Beck, Denise D. Davis, Arthur Freeman: Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders, Third Edition . Guilford Publications, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4625-2581-2 , pp. 33 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  14. ↑ Alice Sendera, Martina Sendera: Skills training for borderline and post -traumatic stress disorder . 2nd Edition. Springer, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-211-71784-4 , pp. 21 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  15. ↑ a b c Ulrich Stangier, David M. Clark, Anke Ehlers: Social phobia (=  progress in psychotherapy . Volume 28 ). Hogrefe, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-8017-1102-1 , p. 14 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  16. ↑ Franz Caspar, Sabine C. Herpertz, Christoph Mundt: What is a mental disorder? In: Sabine Herpertz, Franz Caspar, Christoph Mundt (eds.): Disorder-oriented psychotherapy . 1st edition. Elsevier, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-437-23730-0 , pp. 18 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  17. ↑ Jeffrey E. Young, Janet S. Klosko, Marjorie E. Weishaar: Schema Therapy: A Practitioner's Guide . guilford Press, New York 2003, ISBN 1-57230-838-9 , pp. 22 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  18. ↑ Practice of schema therapy: textbook on basics, model and application; with ... 33 tables . Schattauer, 2011, ISBN 978-3-7945-2767-0 , pp. 2–3 ( limited preview in Google Book search).