Adaptation in Piaget's Theory of Development

Adaptation is the ability to adjust to new information and experiences. Learning new information is essentially adapting to our constantly changing environment so we can function more effectively in the world.

Twentieth-century Swiss psychologist and genetic epistemologist Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development outlined four stages of intellectual growth. These stages include sensorimotor (0 to 2 years old), preoperational (2 to 7 years old), concrete operational (7 to 11 years old), and formal operational (11 years old and up)—however, the age each stage starts can vary. Cognitive skills that develop over time include thinking, reasoning, and understanding.

Piaget believed infants are born with a very basic mental structure that they can build on as they experience their environment. As they grow, they construct mental representations of the world known as schemata. Each individual schema is like a basic building block of intelligent thought and behavior – and a way of organizing knowledge.

According to Piaget's theory, adaptation of schemata is one of the important processes guiding cognitive development from the moment you are born. The adaptation process itself can take place in two ways: assimilation and accommodation.

Piaget's Schemas and Learning

Schemas are the mental representations of the world that are formed based on a person's active engagement with the environment. The concept was first described in 1932 by Frederic Bartlett, and Piaget incorporated the term into his theory of cognitive development.

The ongoing development and adaptation of schemas take place as people learn and understand new information, and schemas are rapidly developing in the early childhood years. Over time, schemas increase in number and complexity.

Schemas are influential in shaping how someone takes in new information and organizes it. Thus, schemas can play an important role in processing information, learning and understanding concepts, and applying what has been learned in future encounters.

Adaptation Through Assimilation

In assimilation, people take in information from the outside world and are often able to fit it in with their existing ideas and concepts. New information can sometimes be readily assimilated into an existing schema. Learning feels easy when it happens this way.

However, this process doesn't always work perfectly, especially during early childhood. Here's one classic example: Imagine a very small child is seeing a dog for the first time. If the child already knows what a cat is, they might assume the dog is a cat: It fits into their existing schema for cats, since both are small, furry, and have four legs. Correcting mistakes like these takes place through the next adaptation process, accommodation.

Adaptation Through Accommodation

In accommodation, people process new information by changing their mental representations to fit that new information. When people encounter information that is completely new or that challenges their existing ideas, they often have to form a new schema to accommodate the information or alter their existing mental categories.

This is much like trying to add information to a database only to find that there is not a pre-existing category for this new data to fit into. In order to incorporate this new data into the database, you will have to create a brand new category or change an existing one.

The child in the previous example who initially thought that a dog was a cat might begin to notice key differences between the two animals. One barks while the other meows. One likes to play while the other wants to sleep all day. After a while, the child will accommodate the new information by creating a new schema for dogs while at the same time updating their existing schema for cats.

Equilibrium

The process of assimilation and accommodation is continuous and dynamic, as we engage with a changing and evolving environment. However, in between the ongoing work of assimilation and accommodation, there are moments where our existing schemas match the circumstances, and we are able to understand everything in our environment. There is nothing new to learn in order to effectively process the information and behave accordingly. This is called equilibrium, a state of mental balance.

Naturally, the next time we encounter an object or situation that is new or perplexes us, this creates a state of disequilibrium, and we are motivated to learn as quickly as possible so we can remove the unpleasant sensation that comes with not understanding. This is when these adaptation processes kick in again.

Summary: Adaptation in Cognitive Development

The adaptation process is a critical part of cognitive development. According to Piaget's theory, this process is what facilitates growth through each of the four developmental stages.

Schemas continue to change over time as people experience new things. Through the adaptive processes of assimilation and accommodation, children and adults are able to take in new information, form new ideas or change existing ones, and adopt new behaviors that make them better prepared to deal with the world around them.