Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDefinitionHow It OccursAccommodation vs. Assimilation

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Definition

How It Occurs

Accommodation vs. Assimilation

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What is Accommodation?

Consider, for example, how small children learn about different types of animals. A young child may have an existing schema for dogs. They know that dogs have four legs, so they might automatically believe that all animals with four legs are dogs.

When the child later learns that cats also have four legs, they undergo a process of accommodation. During this process, their existing schema for dogs will change and they will also develop a new schema for cats.

Schemas become more refined, detailed, and nuanced as new information is gathered and accommodated intoour ideas and beliefs about how the world works.

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Explained

How Accommodation Takes Place

Accommodation doesn’t just take place in children; adults experience this as well. When experiences introduce new information or information that conflicts with existing schemas, we must accommodate this new learning to ensure that what’s inside our head conforms to what’s outside in the real world.

For example, imagine a child raised in a home that presents a stereotyped schema about another social group. Because of their upbringing, the child mightharbor prejudicestoward people in this group.

Piaget believed in the importance of balance between the accommodation andassimilation processes. This creates a state of equilibration, in which an object is represented more truthfully.So, what determines whether a new piece of information is accommodated or assimilated?

The goal of assimilation is to maintain the status quo. By assimilating information, you are keeping your existing knowledge and schemas intact and simply finding a place to store this new information. It’s like buying a new book and finding a place to keep it on your bookshelves.

Accommodation, on the other hand, involves actually changing your existing knowledge of a topic. This is like buying a new book, realizing it doesn’t fit in any of your existing bookshelves, and buying a whole new shelving unit to store all of your books in.

In any given situation, either accommodation or assimilation may “win out.” Which one does often depends upon what has been learned.

Imitation is an important part of the learning process, but developing a stable sense of self is also essential. Reaching a state of equilibrium between the assimilation and accommodation processes is what helps create a sense of stability between an individual and their environment.

The Psychology of Learning

3 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Babaee H, Khoshhal Y.The role of equilibration in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and its implication for receptive skills: A theoretical study.J Lang Teach Res. 2017;8(5):996. doi:10.17507/jltr.0805.22American Psychological Association.Schema.Zhiqing Z.Assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration: A schema-based perspective on translation as process and as product.Int Forum Teach Stud. 2015;11(1/2):84-89.

3 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Babaee H, Khoshhal Y.The role of equilibration in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and its implication for receptive skills: A theoretical study.J Lang Teach Res. 2017;8(5):996. doi:10.17507/jltr.0805.22American Psychological Association.Schema.Zhiqing Z.Assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration: A schema-based perspective on translation as process and as product.Int Forum Teach Stud. 2015;11(1/2):84-89.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Babaee H, Khoshhal Y.The role of equilibration in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and its implication for receptive skills: A theoretical study.J Lang Teach Res. 2017;8(5):996. doi:10.17507/jltr.0805.22American Psychological Association.Schema.Zhiqing Z.Assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration: A schema-based perspective on translation as process and as product.Int Forum Teach Stud. 2015;11(1/2):84-89.

Babaee H, Khoshhal Y.The role of equilibration in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and its implication for receptive skills: A theoretical study.J Lang Teach Res. 2017;8(5):996. doi:10.17507/jltr.0805.22

American Psychological Association.Schema.

Zhiqing Z.Assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration: A schema-based perspective on translation as process and as product.Int Forum Teach Stud. 2015;11(1/2):84-89.

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