Both terms, emotion and schema, are frequently
occurring words in the scientific literature. Although
both terms are controversial, particularly emotion, and
lacking unanimous definitions, emotions can be
described as complex neuronal programs that involve a
pattern of physiological and psychological changes as a
consequence of a triggering situation that evolved to
prepare the organism for different categories of recurring
stimuli (Ekman, 1992). The term ‘schema’ is
derived from the greek word σχ ημα (skh ¯ema), which
means shape or plan and is typically used in cognitive
psychology when referring to cognitive structures
involved in information processing. Broadly defined,
schemas can be regarded as cognitive representations
by which the past, via stored knowledge in memory,
affects the future (Neisser, 1976) In this regard, emotional
schemas extend beyond mere information processing
to affective responses to recurring internal and
external stimuli configurations. Therefore, emotional
schemas can be defined as a triggered response pattern,
including physiological arousal, feelings, cognitive processes,
expressions, behavioral tendencies, and overt
behavior. They contribute to our personality by influencing
how we experience certain situations, interact
with other people, experience our emotions, and interpret
our reactions. Similar to other memory schemas
(e.g., object representations), emotion schemas have both a nature and a nurture component. Hence, one can
distinguish between innate emotional schemas (e.g.,
fear of certain predators), cultural-specific emotional
schemas (e.g., pride when one’s nation wins a world
title in a sports competition), and individual emotional
schemas that are based on information taken from similar
or repeated experiences from a person’s past (e.g.,
nervousness playing a specific opponent against whom
a player has lost numerous times).
