Little files of knowing
Do you sometimes respond to certain situations in ways that don’t seem to align with your current reality?
Well, it’s all to do with the schemas your brain created a long time ago...
What Are Schemas?
A schema is like a map or framework of our knowledge of the world as we have experienced it.
Our brains constantly take in vast amounts of information, and it would be impossible to consciously process every single detail in the moment.
The concept of the schema helps us to understand how the brain, to cope with such constant information, creates schemas - “little files of knowing” - that allow us to operate efficiently by relying on past experiences.
To use driving as an example, once we have learned to drive it becomes second nature to check the mirrors, signal, change pedals, steer and all the other things we do to operate a car safely. In fact, it becomes so ingrained in our understanding that we often don’t think of it at all.
How many times have you driven somewhere, and then realised that you have no recollection of the journey?
Now imagine if you had to consciously think about each action - checking your mirrors, monitoring other cars, planning your route - whilst also staying aware of your passengers, your partner’s conversation, and the weather report on the radio. It would be impossible to process all this consciously without becoming overwhelmed and exhausted.
Instead our brain utilises the schema it has created for driving, and we barely have to think about what we're doing at all. This free's up our mind to better process other sensory input and keeping us safe in our surroundings.
Explicit vs. Implicit Memory Schemas
Schemas like driving a car or our understanding of social roles, involve structured knowledge and factual recall. These schemas are stored in what’s called explicit memory. Explicit memory is consciously accessible and used deliberately.
For instance, we actively draw on explicit memory when recalling directions or following a process at work.
But there’s another type of memory: implicit memory. The schemas stored in implicit memory guide our behaviours and perceptions without conscious awareness. These are the schemas that often cause us to behave in ways we might not understand.
How Implicit Memory Schemas Are Formed
Our brains don’t just create schemas for cogitive processes like driving; they also develop “little maps” of understanding about how our world works and our role in it. These schemas are entirely based on our experiences, and most of them are formed during childhood. For example:
🌿An adult who was treated with love, kindness, and support may view the world as a safe place to explore and connect.
🌿An adult who was ignored, neglected, or abused may perceive the world as threatening and unaccepting.
Examples of Implicit Schemas:
🌿Person A: “I can enter a new social environment with excitement about who I might meet and what interesting conversations I may have. People will likely accept me and be friendly, and if not, it doesn’t concern me too much.”
🌿Person B: “New social environments should be avoided unless absolutely necessary because I don’t have anything worthwhile or interesting to offer. People will judge me, ignore me, or laugh at me and that causes me pain..”
Implicit schemas also influence how we respond to conflicts, such as a row with a partner. For example:
🌿Person A: who views the world as safe and themselves as worthy, might approach the disagreement calmly. They may assume their partner’s intentions are good and focus on finding a resolution.
🌿Person B: who views the world as threatening and themselves as unworthy, might respond defensively or withdraw. They may assume their partner’s words are an attack or that the relationship is at risk. This person may leave at the first sign of conflict because of a schema that has learned something bad happens during conflict.
Why Do Irrelevant Schemas Persist?
Implicit schemas operate automatically, influencing our perceptions, emotions, and behaviours without us even realizing it. This is why we might feel anxious in a perfectly safe situation or react strongly to something minor. Our brain is referencing an old “file of knowing”.
Unfortunately, we haven't evolved to automatically clear out our internal filing system and overlay it with new, up to date, knowledge. So, we maintain the understandings we developed as a child, often before the rational part of our brain was fully developed. These schemas were created for our self-preservation, often the need to ensure our parents are ok to look after us.
We may have learned to keep ourselves out of the way when dad is in a mood or stay small and quiet to avoid criticism. We may have internalised that we are not worthy of love and affection, or to be hypervigilant to avoid pain.
These files of understanding are then brought with us and relied on to keep us safe in our adult life, even though they may not be relevant and do not serve us in our current reality.
How Awareness And Therapy Can Help
Understanding that these schemas exist and recognizing how they influence our behaviour can be a powerful first step towards changing them.
Where once it was assumed that implicit memory could not be changed, it is now understood that the path to these pockets of knowing is through emotion. Feeling the emotions connected to the stored memories can open the pathway to them, helping us to begin to overlay the memories with our knew understandings of our world.
Therapy provides an ideal way to identify and revisit these "little files of knowing," allowing us to update our implicit memory schemas and create healthier ones that better align with our current lives.