Challenges with Schemas and Perception
To send and receive messages that are effective and appropriate, you must be able to process information in a way that not only makes sense to you but that also is accurately perceived by others. Schemas can help you do all of this. However, sometimes schemas can make you a less perceptive communicator; they may cloud your judgment or cause you to rely on stereotypes (discussed later in this chapter) or misinformation. Communication researchers note that schemas present several challenges to competent communication.
If you’ve ever found yourself saying “Uh-
- Mindlessness. Schemas may make you a less critical processor of information by producing a state of mindlessness, during which you process information passively. Mindlessness helps you handle some transactions automatically; for example, you don’t have to consciously think about how to place an order every time you go to a restaurant. But mindlessness can create problems, too—
including reduced cognitive activity (you have fewer thoughts), inaccurate recall (you can’t remember simple things), and uncritical evaluation (you don’t question wrong or incomplete information) (Roloff, 1980). The remedy for mindlessness is to pay attention to your schemas, a process called mindfulness. Mindfulness involves being aware of yourself and tuning out distractions to focus; it has a variety of benefits from higher test scores to reduced public speaking anxiety (Huston, 2010; Jacobs, 2013). - Selective perception. Whereas mindlessness is passive, selective perception—that is, biased perception—
constitutes active thought. If you listen to testimony at a trial, you may notice that one witness will remember the exact time of the accident while another will describe the color and make of the cars involved. They both saw the same accident but remembered different parts. Additionally, we often selectively pay attention to the information that is consistent with our schemas. In our speed- dating example, Adam hears what Irina says, how she says it, and what she looks like. But other information, such as Irina’s warm smile and easy laugh, might escape his notice if it challenges his notion of what an “artsy” person is like. 
IN THE HUNGER GAMES, players have to make sense of evolving schemas in order to survive, adapting to strange creatures, changing landscapes, and sudden rule violations that threaten their lives in the arena. Alessandra Montalto/The New York Times/Redux - Distorted perception. If five people watch a televised debate between two political candidates, they will likely have five different interpretations of what took place and what was important. The strong supporter of one candidate may overestimate the greatness of his candidate’s performance and undervalue the other candidate’s arguments. In addition, we have a tendency to judge events based on vivid information. If you pay attention to sensational news stories, you may believe that you are at great risk of dying in a terrorist attack in the United States, whereas you actually have a much greater chance of being in a fatal car crash (Pomeroy, 2013).
- Undue influence. When you give greater credibility or importance to something shown or said than should be the case, you are falling victim to undue influence. For example, corporations know that using celebrities to endorse their products can increase sales; even though we know actress Kaley Cuoco isn’t a mechanic or a travel agent, her fans might trust that her endorsement of Toyota and Priceline.com signals quality. Similarly, consumers can be influenced by buyer reviews of products, not realizing that a reviewer may have been given free products or other inducements to produce a positive review.