• Self-representation – an idea of who you are 
   and how you look
  • The same you have for others, objects, 
   animals, the world…
  • Mental representations are organized in 
   categories stored in our memory
  • We are able to manipulate mental 
   representations to think of other situations 
   and about the future – what might happen… 
   (in books, films, make plans, calculate risks)
  • What we expect to happen are pre-stored 
   mental representations!
                         Schema theory 
              (theory about information processing)
        •   “An active organisation of past reactions or past 
                         experiences” Barlett 1932
     • Generally: schema is a stored framework or body of 
        knowledge about some topic (aka script or a cognitive 
        structure)
     • When we encounter new material, we try to relate the 
        material to something we already know to existing 
        schemata.
     • If the material does not match an existing schema, we 
        tend to alter the material to make it fit.
  • Consists of concepts that are related to each 
   other
  • Encodes general knowledge that can be 
   applied to many different situations
  • Can be hierarchical, i.e. consist of sub-
   schemata/different levels
  • can be organized in infinite ways