What does assimilation refer to in Piaget's theory?

In Piaget's theory, assimilation refers specifically to the process of taking in new information and integrating it into existing cognitive schemas. When a child encounters new experiences or information, they use their pre-existing frameworks to interpret and understand this new input. This means that rather than altering their existing schemas to accommodate new information, children incorporate it into the structures they already possess. For example, if a child knows a schema for "dog" that includes four-legged animals, and they encounter a new breed they have not seen before, they will assimilate this new dog into their existing understanding without changing the fundamental schema they have for dogs.

The other concepts presented are distinct from assimilation. Adjusting schemas to fit new information represents a different process known as accommodation, where a child's existing cognitive structures are modified to incorporate new experiences that do not fit neatly into existing frames. Constructing new understanding without prior knowledge does not align with assimilation either, as prior schemas are essential for the assimilation process. Lastly, accumulating knowledge through repetition does not specifically encapsulate the active process of integrating new experiences into existing schemas, which is central to assimilation.