In an effort to understand what it means to be a girl, Maria creates the schema that all girls have long hair. When Maria meets Jared, a boy in her preschool who has long hair, Maria becomes confused. Maria's confusion may be due to a process Jean Piaget called

• A. accommodation.
• B. habituation.
• C. assimilation.
• D. socialization.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Begin by understanding the concept of schemas in Piaget's theory. Schemas are mental structures that help individuals organize and interpret information.
2. Recognize that assimilation and accommodation are two processes that describe how individuals incorporate new information into their existing schemas.
3. Assimilation involves integrating new information into existing schemas without changing the schema. In Maria's case, she initially assimilates the idea that all girls have long hair into her schema of 'girl.'
4. Accommodation, on the other hand, involves altering existing schemas or creating new ones when new information cannot be assimilated. Maria's confusion when meeting Jared suggests she may need to accommodate her schema to include boys with long hair.
5. Consider how Maria's experience reflects Piaget's theory of cognitive development, where children actively construct their understanding of the world through these processes.