Two-year-old Luke pointed to a cow in a pasture and said "Doggie!" Which of the following is the child using to name the animal?
A)Memorization
B)Assimilation
C)Preoperational thought
D)Accommodation

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Luke is using assimilation, which is a concept from Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Assimilation occurs when new information is incorporated into existing schemas (in this case, the schema for "doggie") without changing the schema. Luke sees the cow, notices it is an animal similar to a dog, and uses his existing schema for "doggie" to label it.

Two-Year-Old Luke Pointed to a Cow in a Pasture and Said