assimilation....WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Question

IM TAKING A PSY CLASS WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN REGUARDS TO ERKISONS STAGES OF CHILDHOOD DEVELPOMENT

Answer 1

hematiteangel has given you a proper definition. Here is a practical example. When very young children are learning language, they develop "schema" which help them understand the world. A good example would be a young child who has learned the schema "dog." The child is taken to a farm where she encounters a cow. The child points to the cow and say "dog." The cow has been incorporated into the schema "dog." (Four legs, a tail, not a terrible mistake.) This would be an example of assimilation. The alternative is accommodation. This is changing an existing schema to accommodate to new information. The child looks at the cow and perhaps says "dog?" She knows something is not quite right. The parent says, "no, honey, that's a cow." The child says "cow." An accommodation as been made. This is Piaget's theory, by the way.

Answer 2

the process of receiving new facts or of responding to new situations in conformity with what is already available to consciousness

Assimilation

Incorporating objects, experiences, or information into existing schemas. (I think it means schemes)

Answer 3

I think an example would be religion - you would assimilate your child into YOUR religion - not leave it up to them to pick one.