Schema and Script Fill in the Blanks

Instead of the set of typical fixed features in a schema, a script has a series of conventional actions that take place. You have a script for “______” and another script for “Going to the movies.”

Trying not to be out of the office for long, Suzy went into the nearest place, sat down and ordered an avocado sandwich. It was quite crowded, but the service was fast, so she left a good ______.

We all have versions of an “Eating in a restaurant” script, which we can activate to make sense of this text. Trying not to be out of the office for long, Suzy went into the nearest place, sat down and ordered an avocado ______.

We were using our conventional knowledge of what a school classroom is like, or a “classroom schema,” as we tried to make sense of the previous example. We have many schemas (or schemata) that are used in the interpretation of what we experience and what we hear or read about. If you hear someone describe what happened during a visit to a supermarket, you don’t have to be told what is in a ______.

A schema is a general term for a conventional knowledge structure that exists in memory. We were using our conventional knowledge of what a school classroom is like, or a “______ schema,” as we tried to make sense of the previous example.