Schemas and Scripts

Schema, schemas, and schemata are all terms that refer to the generalized information that our memories have about familiar places, situations, categories of objects, and events.
Schemas are heuristics or our general rules.
We use our schemas to guide our understanding of new examples that we encounter and they allow us to make predictions of our expectations in new situations.
One common type of schema is a script (a well-constructed sequence of events that is associated with a familiar activity).
Example:Think about the first day of a new class. What do you expect to happen?
My script tells me that I will look for a familiar face to sit by, the professor will introduce themself, go over the syllabus, answer questions and then possibly start on the first chapter, give an assignment, and/or dismiss us early.
Schemas play an important role on these five components of memory
1. During the selection of material to be remembered;
2. In boundary extension (when you store a scene in memory);
3. During abstraction (when you store the meaning, but not the specific details of the material);
4. During interpretation (when you make inferences about the material); and
5. During integration (when you form a single memory representation of the material).
Reference:
Matlin, M.W. (2005),Cognition (6th ed.) Wiley and Sons
Additional information was obtained from these sites:
Schemas
Schema Theory