How do I practice schemas about people?

The most direct way to practice schemas about people is through a focused exercise: Pick three people you interact with regularly — a colleague, a family member, a friend. For each, write down your default assumption about their motivation. Not what they do, but why you assume they do it. ('She argues because she needs to be right.' 'He's quiet because he doesn't care.' 'They volunteer because they want recognition.') Now ask: what evidence would change this assumption? If you can't think of any, the schema is functioning as an unfalsifiable belief — and it's running your relationship.

Common pitfall: Believing you see people clearly while everyone else operates on assumptions. The most dangerous person-schemas are the ones that feel like perception rather than interpretation. When you say 'I'm just being realistic about human nature,' you're describing a schema — not reporting a fact. The people with the most rigid person-schemas are usually the ones most convinced they don't have any.

This practice connects to Phase 17 (Meta-Schemas) — building it as a repeatable habit compounds over time.