Accommodation is one that allows us to change our existing ideas to take in new information.
Keep reading to learn more about this process, with help from some accommodation examples in psychology.
What is Accommodation?
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Accommodation was initially proposed by psychologistJean Piaget.
New schemas may also be developed during this process.
Consider, for example, how small children learn about different types of animals.
A young child may have an existing schema for dogs.
When the child later learns that cats also have four legs, they undergo a process of accommodation.
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.
Through experience and interactions with members of this group, they realize that their existing knowledge is completely wrong.
This leads to a dramatic change or accommodation in their beliefs about members of this social group.
Accommodation vs. Assimilation
Piaget believed in the importance of balance between the accommodation andassimilation processes.
The goal of assimilation is to maintain the status quo.
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.
In any given situation, either accommodation or assimilation may “win out.”
Which one does often depends upon what has been learned.
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