Piaget's two complementary processes of cognitive adaptation: assimilation (fitting new experience into existing schemas) and accommodation (modifying schemas to fit new experience).
Assimilation: the organism incorporates new information into an existing cognitive structure — a child who knows 'dog' may call a cat 'dog.' Accommodation: when the existing schema fails to fit the new experience, the organism modifies the schema — gradually distinguishing dogs from cats. Equilibration: the dynamic balance between assimilation and accommodation drives cognitive development. The two processes together explain how cognitive structures develop through experience — the mechanism of constructivism.
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