Question

A child is used to riding her own bicycle. Then she tries her friend's bike, which is slightly larger. Piaget would call the changes she makes in her riding when she tries to ride her friend's bike:

Answer 1

Piaget would call the changes a child makes to adapt to a larger bicycle 'accommodation,' which is adjusting schemata to fit new experiences.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the child tries to ride her friend's bicycle, which is larger than her own, the changes she makes in her riding are an example of accommodation. This is one of the two processes Jean Piaget described children use to adjust their schemata or mental models when they learn new information. In this case, the child is used to riding a smaller bicycle, and to effectively ride the larger one, she must adjust her existing knowledge about riding bikes to accommodate the differences of the larger bicycle, such as adjusting her balance, the way she reaches the pedals, and how she handles the steering.