Final answer:
Mental concepts or templates that intuitively guide perceptions and interpretations are called schemata, which enable efficient organization and interpretation of information in the brain.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mental concepts or templates that intuitively guide our perceptions and interpretations are referred to as schemata. Schemata are clusters of related concepts that help organize thinking by creating categories to sort new information. In cognitive psychology, schemata allow our brains to work more efficiently by quickly making assumptions about observed people or objects.
This construct differs from cognitive dissonance, which is the psychological discomfort from holding contradictory beliefs or behaviors, and heuristics, which are general problem-solving frameworks. Schemata are essential for recognizing relationships among different elements of experiences and for keeping information in the mind organized and accessible.