schema

[ skee-muh ]

noun

, plural sche·ma·ta [skee, -m, uh, -t, uh, skee-, mah, -t, uh, ski-], sche·mas.

1. a diagram, plan, or scheme.

   Synonyms: model, framework, outline

2. an underlying organizational pattern or structure; conceptual framework:

   A schema provides the basis by which someone relates to the events they experience.

3. (in Kantian epistemology) a concept, similar to a universal but limited to phenomenal knowledge, by which an object of knowledge or an idea of pure reason may be apprehended.

schema

/ ˈskiːmə /

noun

1. a plan, diagram, or scheme
2. (in the philosophy of Kant) a rule or principle that enables the understanding to apply its categories and unify experience

   universal succession is the schema of causality

3. psychol a mental model of aspects of the world or of the self that is structured in such a way as to facilitate the processes of cognition and perception
4. logic an expression using metavariables that may be replaced by object language expressions to yield a well-formed formula. Thus A = A is an axiom schema for identity, representing the infinite number of axioms, x = x, y = y, z = z, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of schema¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Greek schêma “form, shape, appearance”

Word History and Origins

Origin of schema¹

C19: from Greek: form

Example Sentences

Chess players remember the location of pieces on the board using schema, a way of organizing new information in the brain.

From Science Daily

“You have this very tight, well worn schema that we are adult colleagues who are going out to talk,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

As Bohannon writes: “The ideas that human beings have about reality — what it’s made of, how it works, how we all fit into grander schemata — can change fundamentally.”

From Salon

Under the schema of motivated reasoning, even the weakest information propping up a belief becomes amplified, while strong disconfirming evidence is dismissed.

From Scientific American

Humans are drawn to animals with babylike features, called “baby schema ” in psychology: big eyes, big heads and soft bodies.

From Scientific American