How do schemas affect learning

How do schemas affect learning?

Schemas also play a role in the learning process. Schemas affect what we pay attention to. People tend to pay more attention to things that fit their current plans. Schemas also affect how quickly people learn. People also learn more easily when information fits into existing plans.

Schemas help simplify the world. Schemas often make it easier for people to learn about the world around them. New information can be categorized and organized by comparing new experiences with existing schemas.

Schemas allow us to think quickly. Even when things are changing rapidly and new information is coming in quickly, people usually don’t have to spend a lot of time interpreting it. Because of existing schemas, people are able to absorb this new information quickly and automatically.

Schemas can also change the way we interpret incoming information.  When learning new information that does not fit with existing schemas, people sometimes distort or change the new information to fit what they already know. Schemas can also be very difficult to change. People often stick to their existing schemas even when faced with contradictory information.

How do schemas hinder learning?

While using schemas to learn occurs automatically or with little effort in most situations, sometimes an existing schema can hinder the learning of new information. Bias is one example of a schema that prevents people from seeing the world as it is and prevents them from taking in new information.

By holding certain beliefs about a particular group of people, schemas may cause people to misinterpret situations. When something happens that challenges a person’s existing beliefs, people may come up with alternative explanations that maintain and support their existing schema rather than adapting or changing their beliefs.