Question

A child sees a zebra for the first time and calls it a horse, fitting something new into their existing schema. This is an example of _____. The child's parent explains how a zebra is different from a horse; it has black and white stripes. Now the child correctly says "zebra" when they see one, showing they have adjusted their schema. This is an example of _____. accommodation; assimilation assimilation; schema schemas; assimilation assimilation; accommodation

Answer 1

1. This is an example of assimilation.

2. This is an example of accommodation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concepts of assimilation and accommodation were introduced by psychologist Jean Piaget. According to Piaget, assimilation happens when we interpret our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas. That means we already possess ideas and information about the world and, when presented with something new, we place it under the same categories that already exist for us. That is what the child is doing when he/she calls the zebra a horse.

Accommodation, on the other hand, takes place when we change our schema after new information is received, so that we can accommodate it. That is what the child does when he/she creates a new category for the animal - it is no longer a horse, it is a zebra.