Write a single paragraph that describes the process of cognitive development according to Piaget. Use all the following concepts in your answer in such a way that each concept's meaning is clear: accommodation, assimilation, disequilibrium, equilibration, equilibrium, schemes

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Cognitive development depends on the creation and modification of well-organized groups of similar actions or thoughts (schemes) that become increasingly well adapted to the demands of the environment. When children encounter new information, they try to assimilate it into existing schemes. In other words, they try to make sense of it or in some other way deal with the new information using what they already know and can do. If this is not possible, the child must accommodate to the new information by modifying an existing scheme or creating a new scheme. When children's schemes are well suited to the demands of the environment, they are in equilibrium. When children's schemes are inadequate to address new information or events, they experience disequilibrium, a sort of mental discomfort that spurs them to make sense of the situation in question. The process of moving from equilibrium to disequilibrium and back to a new equilibrium is the equilibration process.