Schema (psychology) - Modification

Modification

New information that falls within an individual's schema is easily remembered and incorporated into their worldview. However, when new information is perceived that does not fit a schema, many things can happen. The most common reaction is to simply ignore or quickly forget the new information. This can happen on a deep level— frequently an individual does not become conscious of or even perceive the new information. People may also interpret the new information in a way that minimises how much they must change their schemas. For example, Bob thinks that chickens don't lay eggs. He then sees a chicken laying an egg. Instead of changing the part of his schema that says 'chickens don't lay eggs', he is likely to adopt the belief that the animal in question that he has just seen laying an egg is not a real chicken. This is an example of 'disconfirmation bias', the tendency to set higher standards for evidence that contradicts one's expectations. However, when the new information cannot be ignored, existing schemata must be changed or new schemata must be created (accommodation). For example, if this chicken has red feathers, Bob can form a new schemata that says 'chickens with red feathers can lay eggs'. This schemata will then be either changed or removed, in the future.

Assimilation is the reuse of schemata to fit the new information. For example, when an unfamiliar dog is seen, a person will probably just assimilate it into their dog schema. However, if the dog behaves strangely, and in ways that doesn't seem dog-like, there will be accommodation as a new schema is formed for that particular dog.