Negative self-schema

• a 'schema' is a package of ideas and information that is developed through experience
• schemas act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information
• A self-schema is the framework of information individuals have about themselves
• people use schemas to interpret the world, so if a person has a negative self-schema they interpret all the information they have about themselves in a negative way
• For example, they could have an ineptness schema, in which they believe they will fail, and/or a negative self-evaluation schema, where they constantly remind themselves of their worthlessness
• schemas allow us to quickly process large amounts of sensory information and make automatic assumptions and responses
• negative self schemas results in automatically negative cognitive bias