Final answer:
An individual can navigate a busy city sidewalk successfully due to an appropriate schema for such environments, which enables efficient processing of sensory information and guides behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
An individual walking down a busy city sidewalk is typically able to navigate it successfully because he or she has an appropriate schema for "busy city sidewalks". Schemas are mental representations or frameworks that help us organize and interpret information. When navigating a busy sidewalk, people rely on schemas that encapsulate the typical patterns of movement, expected obstacles, and social norms that guide behavior in this context. This cognitive structure allows for the efficient processing of sensory information and the coordination of complex movements without the need for intense focus or divided attention.
Think about activities such as commuting or doing the laundry that can become automatic. After initial conscious effort, these tasks can often be performed while the mind is engaged elsewhere, demonstrating our ability to operate on "autopilot." This capacity is facilitated by the schemas we have built up through experience, which function to reduce cognitive load, allowing us to interact with our environment using habitual behaviors and learned responses to sensory stimuli.