Schemas, Biases & Heuristics

Schemas

Organized mental frameworks that guide perception and memory.

Social schemas

Schemas about groups and social roles.

Schemas in memory

Frameworks that influence how memories are encoded and retrieved.

Schemas in reasoning

Mental structures that shape judgments and conclusions.

Biases in reasoning

Systematic deviations from rational judgment.

Confirmation bias

Tendency to seek information that supports existing beliefs

Loss aversion

Tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts used to make quick decisions.

Availability heuristic

Judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind.

Representativeness heuristic

Judging probability based on similarity to a prototype.

Cognitive economy

Tendency to minimize cognitive effort when processing information.