Chapter 75. Three Ways Psychological Schemas Can Improve Your Data Visualization

Whether you are aware of it or not, you are constantly recognizing and processing patterns in your everyday life. Think about when you go to dinner at a sit-down restaurant that you’ve never been to before. Even though you’re trying the restaurant for the first time, you will have some expectation about the order of events, which usually looks like this:

  1. You walk in and are greeted by a host or hostess who shows you to a table.

  2. The waiter comes by to introduce himself and takes your drink order.

  3. After returning with your drinks, the waiter takes your dinner order.

  4. Throughout the meal, the waiter may stop by every once in a while to make sure you’re doing OK and refill your drinks.

  5. After the meal, the waiter will make a bad joke about “saving room for dessert.”

  6. After declining, he will either produce your bill from his pocket or run over to the register to get it for you.

  7. You pay and go on your way.

This is one of many examples of a psychological schema (not to be confused with a database schema) in your everyday life. These patterns help society align diverse audiences and help us process varying situations very efficiently. These schemas are so powerful and ingrained that a disruption to the pattern can be confusing and challenging to overcome. As one extreme example, imagine showing up to a restaurant and having the waiter bring you a check before you’ve sat down.

The restaurant ...

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