Utilizing Schemas  

Reagan Balaam 

03/17/2024 

Psychology 100 

Utilizing Schemas  

In this unit we learned about development through schemas, assimilation, accommodation, and how we use them in our everyday lives. We learned that schemas are mental concepts that organize information. Past experiences are used to predict what will happen in future situations. The use of assimilation and accommodation are also used when we have new experiences or meet new people. Assimilation of information uses previous experiences and leads to predicting that new information will be the same. Though predictions are not always accurate, accommodation is used. We adjust our feelings or actions when things are not how we expect them to be. I can relate this to many experiences I have had and continue to use it in my everyday life. One experience in particular where I noticed myself using accommodation was interviewing for my first job. From what I have heard about applying for jobs and the interview process, I thought that all interviews were very formal and included answering questions on the spot. When I applied to work at a frozen yogurt shop, I expected the interview to be as I had thought it would be. But when I walked in it was very informal and not very question based. The boss was super nice and chill, and I found out I got the job on the spot. Through this experience I used accommodation, I had to change what I was expecting to what was actually happening. After having this experience, I was able to add more information to my schema about the interview process. Overall, though it may not be apparent because it is something we do without even thinking about it, everyone uses schemas on a day-to-day basis. Experiences are taken and put them into groups in our head. When having new experiences, we use this knowledge and either assimilate or accommodate and continue to add information to our schemas.