Assimilation vs accommodation-final

Assimilation and Accommodation by JEAN PIAGET

1. Assimilationvs. Accommodation
10/14/2013
MA. Methodology class
S. VahidehHosseiniNourbin
MahshadTasnimi, Ph.D.

2. 1896 -1980
•1896-1913: Early Years
•1914-1918: Formal Education
•1918-1921: From scientist to
psychologist

3. Assimilation vs. Accommodation
Schema
Horse
Horse
Assimilation
Horse
Horse
No, Zebra
Accommodiation
Horse
Zebra

4. Assimilation vs. Accommodation
Schemafor “doggie”
oFour-legged animal
Assimilation
oSees cow, says “doggie”
Accommodation
oDoggie: small four-legged animal in house
oCow: large four legged animal on farm
Assimilation
oSees horses, says “cow”
Accommodation
oCow say “moo”, horses “neigh”
Schema: an
―elementary
psychological
structure‖

5. Piagetarguedthatchildrendonotjustpassivelylearnbutalsoactivelytrytomake
senseoftheirworlds.Hearguedthat,astheylearnandmature,childrendevelop
schemas—patternsofknowledgeinlong-termmemorythathelpthemremember,
organize,andrespondtoinformation.Furthermore,Piagetthoughtthatwhen
childrenexperiencenewthings,theyattempttoreconcilethenewknowledgewith
existingschemas.Piagetbelievedthatthechildrenusetwodistinctmethodsindoing
so,methodsthathecalledassimilationandaccommodation.
Assimilation vs. Accommodation

6. Assimilation:ThistermstemmedfromtheworkofJeanPiagetandhisworkon
cognitivedevelopmentofchildren.Assimilationisthecognitiveprocessoffittingnew
informationintoexistingcognitiveschemas,perceptions,andunderstanding.Thismeans
thatwhenyouarefacedwithnewinformation,youmakesenseofthisinformationby
referringtoinformationyoualreadyhave(informationprocessedandlearnedpreviously)
andtrytofitthenewinformationintotheinformationyoualreadyhave.
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
Accommodation:ThistermstemmedfromtheworkofJeanPiagetandhis
work
oncognitivedevelopmentofchildren.Accommodationisthecognitiveprocessof
revisingexistingcognitiveschemas,perceptions,andunderstandingsothatnew
informationcanbeincorporated.Inordertomakesenseofsomenewinformation,
youactualadjustinformationyoualreadyhave(schemasyoualreadyhave,etc.)to
makeroomforthisnewinformation.Thisisrelatedtoassimilation.

7. Assimilation vs. Accommodation

8. Assimilation vs. Accommodation
Schema Assimilation Accommodation

9. Cognitive or mental structures by which an individual intellectually adapts to
and organizes the environment.
Repeated patterns of behavior that develop by trial and error.
Never stop changing; constantly refined.
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
Schema
Schemes also change through a second process called organization.
It takes place internally, apart from direct contact with the environment.
Once children form new structures, they start to rearrange them, linking them
with other schemes to create a strongly interconnected cognitive system.

10. Assimilation vs. Accommodation
Adaptationinvolves building schemes, or psychological structures, through
direct interaction with the environment.
According to Piaget, adaptationconsists of two complementary activities:
Assimilation–using current schemes to interpret the external world.
Accommodation–adjusting old schemes or creating new ones after noticing
that current thinking does not capture the environment completely.

11. http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/assimacc.htm
Assimilation vs. Accommodation
Read More:
http://psychology.about.com/od/aindex/g/assimilation.htm
www.pugetsound.edu/facultypages/cjones/piaget-examples.doc