Self-Schemas
« Back to Glossary IndexSelf-schemas are a type of schema (a mental model stored in long-term memory), based on our experiences and what we think about ourselves, including physical characteristics, personality traits, perceptions, interests, and expectations. A student self-schema processes information about school, and an athlete’s, about sports. Self-schemas help predict our behavior, resist information not fitting our schemas, and determine what information to pay attention to and retain. Mostly formed in childhood, self-schemas develop throughout life with significant impact on our lives. Self-schemas operate beneath awareness and gain power by being hidden. Without knowing it, we may hate our lives or believe we don’t deserve love. Self-motivating when positive, but can also lead to negative emotions and harmful behaviors (like thinking we’re bad or worthless). This makes it difficult to change our thinking, even with reassurance from our experiences or feedback from others. Also see Mood-Congruent Effects. Important factors contribute to self-schema formation:
- Early childhood experience with involved/interested parents leads to more positive self-schemas. Low involvement is associated with a negative self-schemas.
- Social relationships, as we meet and receive feedback from new people and become part of new social groups, helps modify our self-concept.
- Life experiences as friends, siblings, parents, coworkers, and other roles influence how we think and feel about ourselves and how we act in particular situations.
- Thoughts of future selves can be positive or negative, according to experts, depending on how our self-schemas reflect our ideas about how we think we’ll turn out in the coming years.
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