Schema Theory: An Information Processing Model of Perception and Cognition

Abstract

The world is complex, and yet people are able to make some sense out of it. This paper offers an information-processing model to describe this aspect of perception and cognition. The model assumes that a person receives information which is less than perfect in terms of its completeness, its accuracy, and its reliability. The model provides a dynamic description of how a person evaluates this kind of information about a case, how he selects one of his pre-existing patterns (called schemata) with which to interpret the case, and how he uses the interpretation to modify and extend his beliefs about the case. It also describes how this process allows the person to make the internal adjustments which will serve as feedback for the interpretation of future information. A wide variety of evidence from experimental and social psychology is cited to support the decisions which went into constructing the separate parts of the schema theory, and further evidence is cited supporting the theory's system-level predictions. Since the schema theory allows for (but does not assume) the optimization of its parameters, it is also used as a framework for a normative analysis of the selection of schemata. Finally, a few illustrations from international relations and especially foreign-policy formation show that this model of how people make sense out of a complex world can be directly relevant to the study of important political processes.

The curvilinear and conditional effects of product line breadth on salesperson performance, role stress, and job satisfaction

“…The theoretical framework draws from role theory (Kahn et al 1964) and schema theory (Axelrod 1973). Based on these theories and the extant research on product line breadth, we hypothesize relationships between the number of product lines handled by salespeople and their performance, role stress, and job satisfaction.…”

“…In our model, we propose nonlinear relationships between the number of product lines handled and these outcome variables. While we discuss the argument for these relationships in the hypotheses section, the performance-decreasing incremental effect is posited from the relevant benefits and costs of carrying more lines, and the role stress-decreasing incremental effects are grounded in schema theory (Axelrod 1973). A schema is a "cognitive structure that represents the organized knowledge about a given concept and contains both the attributes of the concept and the relationship among the attributes" that allows one to make inferences and simplify situations (Busenitz and Lau 1996, p. 28).…”

Framing-effects approach: A theoretical and methodological critique

“…In the context of this article, media frames are labeled as formal or abstract when they do not refer to content. I conceive such stimuli as an equivalent to the schema-theoretical concept of formal schemata such as 'causality' (Kelley, 1972) or 'balance' (Axelrod, 1973). Iyengar (1991) distinguishes between episodic and thematic framing.…”

Indonesian Perceptions Toward Materials in Context of Culture

“…and the relationships between each of its parts. It acts as a reference point to interpret new information [9,10]. Schemata represent knowledge at all levels, from abstract to concrete.…”