Schemas

· [Preece+] defines a schema as a “network of general knowledge, based on previous experience”.

· Internalised knowledge that enables us to know how to behave in certain situations.

· Schemas are mapped from the source domain to the target domain. We can function in the target domain by using our schemas from the source domain

· Presumably part of the attraction of interface metaphors is that the user will “instantly” know how to use the system, because they can apply schemas from the source domain to the target domain.

· [Preece+] Scripts are a subclass of schemas. They describe a “script” of actions that accompany a certain situation. For example there is the restaurant script that describes how things happen when eating in a restaurant.

· Schemas are usually functional rather than structural.

· For metaphor mappings to be useful, presumably the internal structure of a schema (such as a script) must be invariant under the mapping

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