Schema

The tendency to perceive or think about people, propositions, or situations in terms of the ideas we have already formed about them;

cognitive structure or representation which organizes actors' knowledge, beliefs, and past experiences, providing a framework for understanding new events and experiences;

a general expectation or preconception about a wide range of phenomena.

(see also: Stereotype, Observer effect»Observer bias, expectations, expectancy, placebo, double-blind, experimenter bias, belief bias, myside bias)