The Psychology of Schemas: Why Our Childhood Can Mess Us Up

Welcome to Chapter 3 of my Transformation Series! In this video I explore the psychology of how schemas form and the way that adverse experiences in childhood can shape who we are by influencing our personality and continuing to have a profound impact on our lives even as adults. If you find this video helpful please like and subscribe to receive new content on psychology and therapy related topics

If you are starting in the middle, you can find the whole series here:    • The Transformation Series: My Video C...  

If you are are a therapist interested in watching more in depth videos on this topic while earning CEUs online you can check out my website here: toriolds.com

Why Schemas Form

So why would these childhood experiences from so long ago still impact us today? The answer is pretty simple. It rests on the fact that our 'issues' are not actually defects; they are modes of responding that we LEARNED (don't think of conscious, purposeful learning here, think more of conditioning). When does this learning happen? Well we begin to establish many of our core schemas in early childhood. After all, our brain can't wait until we are adults to try to figure out how to respond to life! It starts on day one, and works on overdrive throughout our whole childhood.

How Schemas Work

The problem is, once our brain has learned something a million times over, it stops questioning it's reality. In this way it can 'automate' its response and work more efficiently. These maps of reality are referred to as schemas. Childhood is such a critical period because when we are younger we are more open to learning. After all, by the time we are adults, haven't we learned everything we need to know? The brain sure thinks so! This is why changing as an adult is so difficult!

It's Hard, But We Can Change Our Schemas

Of course there are exceptions to this, for instance when a new experience is particularly intense (think of trauma, or for that matter a therapeutic breakthrough!). Or when we use therapy techniques to trigger memory reconsolidation (which we will talk about in the next video). But as a trend, our conditioned (learned) emotions, behaviors, and perspectives: our schemas, tend to stick with us into adulthood. Hence why our childhood experiences (or more accurately, what those experiences teach us) are at the core of everything!