Adaptation, a mechanism of mental growth through experience
His intensive observations of children lead him to describe their intellectual growth through a series of set cognitive stages by a process of maturation called adaption.
In adaption, environmental influences cause disruptions in body equilibrium, and there is a natural inclination to reestablish it. Two processes are involved:
- 1. How children perceive the environment (process input) is a function of their existing schemas (concepts). This is called assimilation.
- 2. When these perceptions do not fit reality or solve problems, schemas are changed and/or combined (accommodation) to correct the situation. The child then perceives the world differently through the new neural organization (assimilation).
The concept of adaption is analogous to climbing a ladder. There is a different view from each rung (assimilation), and a process of change as we climb to the next rung (accommodation).