Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Schemas

Schemas

A schema is a mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts (Bartlett, 1932). There are many different types of schemata, and they all have one thing in common: schemata are a method of organizing information that allows the brain to work more efficiently. When a schema is activated, the brain makes immediate assumptions about the person or object being observed.

Impact of Schemas

Impact of Schemas

Schemas are cognitive structures that provide a framework for interpreting and organizing social information. They help individuals navigate complex environments by offering expectations about people, events, and behaviors. Schemas influence attention, encoding, and retrieval processes, thereby shaping the entire trajectory of information processing in social contexts.Attention and Cognitive LoadDuring initial attention, schemas function as filters that prioritize schema-consistent information,...

Storage

Storage

A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize and interpret information. Schemata, formed from previous experiences, influence how we process new information: how we encode it, the inferences we make, and how we retrieve it. For instance, a schema for what a typical classroom looks like might include desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and students in such an environment. This expectation helps us quickly understand and navigate new classrooms without needing to analyze each...

Schemata

Schemata

A schema is a mental construct that organizes related concepts, allowing the brain to process information efficiently. Upon activation, schemata facilitate assumptions about people or objects.
Two types of schemata are:

Self-Schemas

Self-Schemas

In general, a schema is a mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts (Bartlett, 1932). There are many different types of schemata, and they all have one thing in common: schemata are a method of organizing information that allows the brain to work more efficiently. When a schema is activated, the brain makes immediate assumptions about the person or object being observed.

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

Automatic processing refers to the cognitive operations that occur without conscious intent or awareness, playing a fundamental role in shaping social cognition and behavior. These processes enable individuals to navigate complex social environments efficiently by relying on mental shortcuts and pre-existing knowledge structures known as schemas. One of the most influential mechanisms underlying automatic processing is priming, which subtly activates mental representations through exposure to...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

The Invisible Bond of Trauma: Examining Sibling Influence on Psychological Distress in Syrian Refugee Youth.

Research square·2026

Same author

Editorial: Beyond the Statistics: Missed Opportunities in Refugee Children's Mental Health Care.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·2026

Same author

Ecological and environmental factors shaping refugee resilience: a longitudinal analysis.

Ethnicity & health·2026

Same author

The First Application of Trauma Event Centrality to Neurobiological Research: Assessing Cortisol Reactivity and Moderating Effects of Interpersonal Trauma.

The Psychiatric quarterly·2026

Same author

Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy (ARET) for military-related PTSD: A thematic analysis of stakeholder perspectives guiding iterative development.

Military psychology : the official journal of the Division of Military Psychology, American Psychological Association·2026

Same author

Mental Health Attitudes and Perspectives in Arab American Communities: Beliefs Associated with Stigma, Treatment, and the Origins of Pathology.

Transcultural psychiatry·2025

Same journal

31st annual Daniel S. Prager M.D. lectureship in psychoanalytic psychiatry.

The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry·2011

Same journal

Aspects of psychodynamic neuropsychiatry IV: love, ripe fruit, and other addictions.

The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry·2011

Same journal

Schizophrenia as a human process.

The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry·2011

Same journal

Freud on play, games, and sports fanaticism.

The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry·2011

Same journal

Traumatic subjective experiences invite suicide.

The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry·2011

Same journal

The meaning of a metapsychology as an instrument for "explaining".

The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry·2011

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Published on: October 13, 2023

A neural network model for schemas based on pattern completion.

Arash Javanbakht¹

¹Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State University, MI., USA.

The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry

|June 25, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study proposes a brain model for schemas, explaining how learned patterns complete ambiguous experiences. This neurobiological approach to cognitive theory has implications for understanding self-perception and therapeutic interventions.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 31, 2026

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Published on: October 13, 2023

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Computational Psychiatry

Background:

Neuroscience advances offer tools for understanding psychological concepts.
Brain models are crucial for validating psychological theories in the context of biological psychiatry.

Purpose of the Study:

Propose a neurobiological model for schemas, fundamental to cognitive theory.
Explain the role of schemas in completing ambiguous experiences via neural pathways.
Investigate the function of the mirror neuron system in schema pattern recognition.

Main Methods:

Utilizing an autoassociative neural network to model schema learning and recognition.
Describing schema-based completion of ambiguous sensory information through thalamo-hippocampal-cortical pathways.
Explaining the involvement of the mirror neuron system in pattern recognition.

Main Results:

Schemas function as learned patterns that resolve uncertainties in self and environmental perception.
The model explains how schema-based completion can lead to illusory perceptions.
The mirror neuron system's role in schema pattern recognition is elucidated.

Conclusions:

The proposed brain model offers a neurobiological basis for cognitive schemas.
This model has implications for both psychological and biological therapeutic strategies.
Integrating dynamic and cognitive therapies is rationalized through this neurobiological framework.