A two-year-old child's family has a pet rabbit. When the family visits the zoo, the child sees a hamster for the first time and calls it a rabbit because of the physical features that are common to a rabbit and a hamster. According to Piaget, which cognitive process will most likely modify the child's understanding?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, accommodation is the process by which an individual's existing schema, or cognitive structure, is modified or changed to incorporate new information that does not fit into their current understanding. In this case, the child's existing schema for a rabbit includes certain physical features, which they now associate with the hamster they have seen for the first time. Therefore, in order to incorporate this new information, the child's cognitive process will likely modify their understanding through accommodation.

A Two-Year-Old Child's Family Has a Pet Rabbit