Six-month-old Nydia has been exclusively breastfed since birth. Thus, she has never drunk from a bottle. The first time Nydia is offered the bottle, she tries to suck on it the same way she is used to sucking. However, her old sucking behavior is not successful with the bottle. She has to adapt her sucking in order to get sufficient milk from the bottle. Nydia's new understanding of how to suck on the bottle is an indication that she has engaged in which of the following Piagetian processes?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Accommodation, the adaptation of an individual's cognitive schemas or mental representations to fit with newly encountered information, best describes Nydia's adjustment to sucking on a bottle. She had to modify her existing sucking schema to adapt to the bottle's unique features, such as a nipple and different suction requirements, indicating the accommodation process. Neither assimilation, schemes, nor conservation adequately explains Nydia's behavior with the bottle.

Six-Month-Old Nydia Has Been Exclusively Breastfed Since Birth