Adaptation is the ability to adjust to new information and experiences.
Cognitive skills that develop over time include thinking, reasoning, and understanding.
As they grow, they construct mental representations of the world known as schemata.
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The adaptation process itself can take place in two ways:assimilationandaccommodation.
Over time, schemas increase in number and complexity.
Schemas are influential in shaping how someone takes in new information and organizes it.
The next time a child sees a dog, they can use their existing schema to identify it.
New information can sometimes be readily assimilated into an existing schema.Learning feels easy when it happens this way.
Think of this as having a mental database.
However, this process doesn’t always work perfectly, especially during early childhood.
Here’s one classic example: Imagine a very small child is seeing a dog for the first time.
Correcting mistakes like these takes place through the next adaptation process,accommodation.
Not surprisingly, the accommodation process tends to be much more difficult than assimilation.
People are often resistant to changing their schemas, particularly if it involves changing a deeply held belief.
One barks while the other meows.
One likes to play while the other wants to sleep all day.
There is nothing new to learn to get to effectively process the information and behave accordingly.
This is calledequilibrium,a state of mental balance.
This is when these adaptation processes kick in again.
Summary: Adaptation in Cognitive Development
The adaptation process is a critical part of cognitive development.
According to Piaget’s theory, this process is what facilitates growth through each of the four developmental stages.
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