Pattern Language and Cognitive Psychology

Christopher Wolfgang Alexander (born October 4, 1936 in Vienna, Austria) produced and validated a “pattern language” concept designed to empower anyone to design and build at any scale. A notable value of pattern language is that the architectural system consists only of classic patterns tested in the real world and reviewed by multiple architects for beauty and practicality. The idea of a pattern language appears to apply to any complex engineering task, and has been applied to some of them. It has been especially influential in software engineering where patterns have been used to document collective knowledge in the field.
This paper compares this idea with cognitive theories. It is argued that ‘schema’ in cognitive theories and its role in deduction of knowledge could resemble the role of pattern in production of architecture.