INFORMATION
PROCESSING
SCHEMA/SCRIPTS
 1) Abstract Or




Generic Knowledge
Structure
2) Stored In
Memory
3) That Specify The
Defining Features
and Relevant
Attitudes
4) In Some
Stimulus Domain
5) And
Interrelationships
Among The
Attributes
SCHEMA DEFINITION
SCHEMA ARE
USEFUL IN
THAT THEY:
 Help structure,
organize, interpret new
information
 Help in encoding,
storage, and recall
 Decrease cognitive
effort (save cognitive
time and energy)
 Interpretative and
inferential functions
• People’s understanding of
the psychology of typical
or specific individuals,
• composed of traits and
goals,
• helps them to categorize
others,
• and to remember
schema-relevant behavior.
• PERSON-INSITUATION SCHEMA:
highly rich in detail and
available to for recall
PERSON
SELFSCHEMA:
• General information
about one’s own
psychology makes up a
complex,
• easily accessible,
• verbal self-concept
• that guide information
processing about the
self.
SELFSCHEMA:
Cont.
• Our schema for self:
• More familiar, affective, robust, complex, verbal self-portrait.
• Our schema for others
• are less familiar,
• less accessible in memory,
• less affective, simpler,
• and more likely to be stored in image form.
ROLESCHEMA:
• Intergroup
perception and
stereotyping are
affected by role
schemas
• that describe
the appropriate
norms and
behavior for
broad social
categories,
based on age,
race, sex, and
occupation.
EVENT
SCHEMA:
• People’s prior knowledge
of the typical sequence of
events on standard social
occasions
• helps them to understand
ambiguous information,
• to remember relevant
information,
• and to infer consistent
information where it is
missing.
Empirical
Script Norms
at Three
Agreement
Levels
Grocery Checkout Script
Dark Blue: Over 50% agreement
Light Blue: 36-50% agreement
Consumer Script
Cashier Script
Observation Script
find shortest line
SELECT LINE
SELECT LINE
look at magazines
look at magazines
look around store area
UNLOAD CART
leave line for forgotten items
watch others in line
speak to clerk
UNLOAD CART
stare ahead
get out checkbook
greet checker
push cart ahead
watch register
MAKE REQUEST/ASK QUESTION
look at magazines
begin writing heck
engage checker in small talk
move ahead of cart
Write/finish Check
watch register
get pocketbook from cart
watch bagboy
give coupons
UNLOAD/SET DOWN GROC.
pay
complain to checker
watch clerk
LEAVE
watch bagboy
WATCH REGISTER
give instructions to bagboy
SPEAK TO CLERK
act shocked at total
GOT OUT WALLENT OR CHECKBOOK
write check
write check
PAY
PAY
take receipt
receive change
say "thank you/parting statement
get receipt
leave
say "thank you"/ parting statement
Green: 20-35% agreement
pick up goroc
get out keys
LEAVE
THEORY OF
MINDFULNESSMINDLESSNESS
• ASSUMPTIONS:
– (1) Similar actions can be
accompanied by vastly
differing cognitive
activities
– (2) Much that appears to
be thoughtful, conscious,
and intentional is in fact
mindless
Mindlessness
Definition
• “A state of reduced
mental activity in which
individuals process cues
in a relatively automatic
manner, without
attending to novel
aspects of those cues.”
– (Fisk, Taylor, Crocker)
 (1) More Effort is
demanded than
originally imagined.
 (2) External factors
disrupt instantiation of
scripts.
WHEN ARE
WE
MINDFUL
 (3) External factors
prevent completing of
behavior.
 (4) When Negative or
Positive outcomes are
sufficiently discrepant.
THE INITIAL INTERACTION SCRIPT
• *GREETING
• *INTRODUCTION
• Health
• Present Situation
• Reason for Presence
• Weather
•
INITIATION PHASE
*CAPITAL LETTERS = over 65% of
respondents stated action
– CAPITAL LETTERS = 50-65% of
respondents stated action
– Underlined = 35-50% of
respondents stated action
– Typed = 20-35% of respondents
stated action
– Based on research by Kathy
Kellermann & Scott Broetzmann
MAINTENANCE PHASE
• Where Live
• HOMETOWN
• PERSONS KNOW
IN COMMON
• What do you do?
• Education
• Occupation
• Social Relations
• Compliments
• Interests
• Family
• Sports
TERMINATION PHASE
• Discuss Near Future
Meeting
• Evaluation of
Encounter
• Plan Future Meeting
• Positive Evaluation of
Person
• Until Later
• Reason for
Terminating
• GOOD-BYES