Which term describes the process of interpreting new experiences to fit with existing ideas?

• A. Accommodation
• B. Assimilation
• C. Socialization
• D. World Systems Theory

Answer: (B)

Interpreting new experiences to fit with what you already think is assimilation. In Piaget’s framework, assimilation means taking new information and fitting it into existing schemas without changing those schemas. For example, a child who has a category for “dog” may label any four-legged animal they encounter as a dog, using the current idea rather than altering their concept of what a dog is. When new information can’t easily fit, accommodation occurs—adjusting the schema to incorporate the new data. So the process described is assimilation. The other terms refer to broader social processes or theories not about how individuals interpret new input in light of their existing ideas.