Susan is a young child and she happens to know that fish swim. One day at the zoo, Susan sees a penguin swimming in a pool. Susan turns to her mother and says, "Look, the black-and-white fish is swimming!" The fact that Susan calls the penguin a fish illustrates ___________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Susan is using the process of assimilation, where she incorporates new information (seeing a penguin swim) into her existing schema (knowledge that fish swim) without modifying her existing schema to accommodate the new information.

Susan Is a Young Child and She Happens to Know