Jean Piaget said that thinking involves assimilation, (easy understanding of something because it fits into prior frames of reference,) and accommodation, (having to create a new frame of reference). Furthermore, Piaget said that when we succeed in assimilating or accommodating a new experience, we feel equilibrium; but when we cannot, we feel disequilibrium. Consider this illustrative story. The first time an eighteen-month-old child is left by his mother with a babysitter, he cries inconsolably. He is miserable. Three hours later she comes back. The same thing happens several days in a row. Gradually the child realizes that although his mother may go away, she always returns and greets him with love. Now he waves goodbye when she leaves and plays contentedly with the babysitter.
a. This story illustrates resignation.
b. The main point of this story is to illustrate disequilibrium.
c. This story illustrates how successful accommodation restores equilibrium.
d. This story illustrates assimilation.
Question 2
Jean Piaget defines thinking as an active process whereby people organize their perceptions of the world. Rephrased, this definition means:
a. The ability to think depends upon intelligence.
b. Thinking occurs in pictures rather than words.
c. Thinking makes sense of our perceptions and puts them into a mental order.
d. Thinking occurs without our awareness.
The sexual cycle of flowering plants involves alternation of sporophyte and gametophyte generations.
Understanding Intentions
Piaget’s Three-Mountain Problem
Authoritative parenting involves enforcing rules in a way that conveys parental affection.
Critical-Thinking Tip
Math Thinking Problem