Scripts and Schemas

So... what does one think when one encounters this in a bathroom?

In Consumer Behavior class today, we discussed schemas, and more specifically, scripts, which are basically schemas for situations. We talked about how they act much like scripts in a play, allowing us to act in a certain way when we're surrounded by different visual cues.
Isn't it kind of cool how when we're in a grocery store, we know to get a cart and start moving through the aisles, and when we go to a movie theater, we know to buy tickets, go to the theater, sit down, and wait for the movie to start? It is as if we are programmed like robots! Ok, well we are programmed. But in a very organic way. Very organic and AWESOME.
Anyway, I was thinking about all this, and I started thinking about funny scripts- like the ones we rely on in really awkward situations, such as when we are sitting on a super-crowded bus, or when we use public bathrooms. The scripts are funny enough as it is, you know? But when someone violates the script, by shooting at a toy stuck to a bathroom mirror, for instance, things just get frickin' hilarious. I mean, people don't know how to react!!
I suppose that's what makes these so funny...


Aaah, consumer behavior. Love it.