Full transcript
0:00from the moment that we are born we are
0:01given a ton of information our parents
0:03speak to us in language that we have no
0:05pre-programmed understanding of but
0:07eventually we are taught the rules that
0:08we eventually follow and we witness
0:10memories that soon become subconscious
0:12lessons so as we grow up the language
0:15becomes a way of communicating with
0:16people around us
0:17we apply the rules that we have learned
0:19to similar situations
0:20usually without question and our
0:22memories shape the way we perceive the
0:24world around us but how does our brain
0:26organize
0:26all of this information how can we
0:28easily find the rules for behaving at a
0:30country club and then apply them to how
0:32we behave in similar situations for the
0:34answer
0:34we turn to schema theory now this video
0:36is all about schema theory how it helps
0:38our mind function
0:39and how something called schema shape
0:41the way that we see the world
0:43the more you know about this thing
0:44called a schema the easier it will be to
0:45understand your mind and make the best
0:47judgments around you
0:48so let's start off with what are schema
0:50or what is a schema
0:51it's not the easiest concept to grasp
0:54without using a metaphor so think of
0:55your mind as
0:56a filing cabinet inside of that filing
0:58cabinet is everything that you've ever
1:00learned
1:00ever experienced or witnessed every
1:02piece of information
1:03is a schema a schema are a framework
1:06that we can use whenever we take in new
1:08information
1:08and seek to make sense of it so think of
1:10a schema as little index cards that
1:12represent a concept
1:13one index card schema could encompass
1:15everything you know about alex trebek
1:17another schema could encompass
1:18everything you know about oxford commas
1:20or how to behave at a restaurant
1:21schema help us organize our thoughts and
1:23make it easier to pull from them
1:25whenever we process new information or
1:27memories i'll go into a little bit more
1:28about how it works later but right now
1:30you just need to know that schema help
1:32organize the mind so what about the
1:33history of schema theory
1:35well schema is an abstract concept so
1:37there's not exactly one exact
1:39psychologist
1:40responsible for creating schema theory
1:42or one part of the brain that you can
1:44remove that destroys your schema
1:45creating ability
1:46psychologists like frederick bartlett
1:48introduced the concept of
1:49abstract frameworks in the mind that
1:51organized information but at the time
1:53no psychologist really had a name for
1:54him the term schema is actually credited
1:57to john piaget
1:58psja was crucial for developing theories
2:00on how the mind works and the process of
2:02something called cognitive
2:03development he is famous for his work
2:05with children and i've actually read
2:07some of his work he was obsessed with
2:09understanding the child's mind
2:10and how it grew i think something that's
2:12interesting is that children grow
2:13the most whenever we become adults we
2:16usually stop growing so if we can
2:17understand how that growth process
2:19happens we can then apply it
2:20later in our adult lives to continue
2:22growing just as quickly now psja
2:24observed as children develop schema and
2:26use them like building blocks what
2:28starts out as very simple schema
2:30eventually become more complex and begin
2:32to explain a longer list of concepts in
2:34the world
2:35schema are comparable to beginning
2:36beliefs you have about life the first
2:38time a child attends a birthday party
2:40for example they may not really have a
2:41solid schema for what happens at a
2:43birthday party and through their
2:44experience at the party and maybe by
2:46listening to their parents
2:47explaining what is happening they start
2:49to build the schema or the idea or
2:51belief
2:51about what a birthday party is and the
2:53next time they hear about a birthday
2:54party or they get an invitation as an
2:56adult
2:57they'll have more of an abstract idea of
2:59what a birthday party is and how they
3:01should behave
3:01now birthday parties actually fall under
3:03the category of something called a
3:04script schema or a type of schema that
3:06comes with a script
3:08other types of script schema include the
3:10concept of ordering at a restaurant
3:11behaving at a sports game
3:13or experiencing a breakup and there's
3:14many different types of schema like
3:16object schema which is information about
3:18things social schema which is
3:20information about groups of people
3:21person schema which is specific
3:23information about a single person
3:25role schema which is how to behave it's
3:26kind of like you can put on a mask in
3:28different situations
3:29and trait schema which is information
3:31about what one trait means so i think
3:33it's important to understand that we as
3:35humans are meaning making creatures but
3:37our mind wants to make that meaning that
3:39purpose without a lot of work and effort
3:41that's why the mind pulls from schema
3:43they allow us to fill in the blanks and
3:45paint a picture of an event or a person
3:47we don't exactly have to repaint that
3:48picture every time we meet a new person
3:50or go to a birthday party
3:51it's kind of like autofill but for ideas
3:54this saves us time
3:55and energy but it can also produce
3:57inaccurate judgments
3:58now this is both a positive and a
4:00negative trait of schema because we've
4:02all heard of some version of this riddle
4:04see if you can guess it a father and a
4:05son were in an accident very sadly the
4:07father was killed immediately and the
4:09son was brought to the hospital for
4:10surgery in the operating room a doctor
4:12came in
4:12looked at the boy and said i can't
4:14operate on him he's my son now i'm gonna
4:16give you a few seconds to think about
4:18that
4:18most people if they've never heard this
4:20riddle before they cannot answer it
4:21correctly and it goes to show how deep
4:23biases are in our brains whenever we
4:26process information so have you figured
4:27out who the doctor is yet the answer
4:29is that the doctor is the boy's mother
4:31unfortunately due to your typical
4:32picture or a schema of what a doctor or
4:35a surgeon is
4:36most people do not attribute the title
4:37to a woman or a mother
4:39the picture of a doctor you have in your
4:40mind is actually the schema that you
4:42have built for a doctor
4:43and for most people the picture of a
4:45doctor is a man wearing a white lab coat
4:47and a stethoscope
4:48that is the picture that we bring to
4:49mind whenever we hear the word doctor
4:51now this is where schema can become
4:52problematic
4:53by pulling from past schema we may close
4:55ourselves off to information or thoughts
4:57that contradict what is in our index
4:59card of a concept
5:00so in short a schema can actually limit
5:02us stereotypes
5:04limiting beliefs and old ways may be
5:06formed by the schema that we have built
5:08in the past so you may be asking hmm
5:10can you change your schema because we
5:11all know someone who's stuck in their
5:13old ways
5:13for some people it seems impossible to
5:15change the schema they have created for
5:17different groups of people how the world
5:18works and how to behave well the answer
5:20is
5:21yes and no it's definitely possible to
5:23change the way that you look at someone
5:25that you might have judged before
5:26as you gain more experience and learn
5:28more about the world your schema may
5:30start to change and you might start to
5:31have a more open mind about the people
5:33that you meet and the places that you go
5:35but this comes with one caveat you have
5:36to be open to change
5:38you cannot just read a book and alter
5:39the way that you see the world adjusting
5:41your thinking and opening your mind is a
5:43constant process
5:44that requires rewriting the story of the
5:46world and trying to
5:47unlearn harmful stereotypes and it's
5:49definitely not easy challenging set
5:51beliefs
5:52is notoriously difficult and
5:53uncomfortable but it is possible and
5:55with the right intention you can
5:56actually help yourself create a more
5:58accurate and unbiased judgment of the
6:00world whenever you receive new
6:01information
6:02so as a review a schema is like an index
6:04card of what you know about something
6:06schema theory is how your brain
6:07organizes information kind of like a
6:09filing cabinet
6:10and because of this schemas influence
6:12your stereotypes and prejudices
6:14lastly you can change your schema but
6:16first impressions usually stick around
6:18i hope you guys enjoyed this video on
6:19schemas and i encourage you to watch all
6:21of the other videos in my social
6:22psychology series to get a full grasp of
6:24how the human brain works in conjunction
6:26with other people thank you so much for
6:32watching
6:35you