Assimilation - concept and signs, how does assimilation differ from dissimilation? General idea of ​​psychology as a science The problem of assimilation of a person’s actual psychological experience.

Accommodation (from Latin accomodato - adaptation to a person) - in the concept of intelligence by J. Piaget - a property, side of the process adaptation.

Content Accommodations, according to Piaget, is the adaptation of behavior patterns to a situation that requires certain forms of activity from the body. Piaget emphasizes the fundamental unity of biological and cognitive accommodation, the essence of which is the process of adaptation to the various demands put forward to the individual by the objective world. Accommodation is inseparable from assimilation, together with which they represent permanent attributes of any act of adaptation. [Big psychological dictionary]

Assimilation(from Latin assimilatio - fusion, assimilation, assimilation) - in the concept of intellectual development by J. Piaget - an attribute, an aspect of adaptation. The content of Assimilation is the assimilation of certain material by already existing patterns of behavior, “pulling” a real event to the cognitive structures of the individual.

According to Piaget, cognitive Assimilation is not fundamentally different from biological Assimilation. Assimilation is inseparable from accommodation in any act of adaptation or adaptation. In the early stages of development, any mental operation represents a compromise between 2 tendencies: assimilation and accommodation. Piaget calls primary assimilation “deforming”, since when a new object meets an existing scheme, its features are distorted, and the scheme changes as a result of accommodation. The antagonism of assimilation and accommodation gives rise to irreversibility of thought . When assimilation and accommodation begin to complement each other, the child's thinking changes. The transition to objectivity, reciprocity, and relationality is based on the progressive interaction of assimilation and accommodation. When harmony is established between 2 tendencies, reversibility of thought , exemption from egocentrism . Any logical contradiction, according to Piaget, is the result of a genetically existing conflict between accommodation and assimilation, and such a situation is biologically inevitable.

Examples: Assimilation is a biological concept. By digesting food, the body assimilates the environment; this means that the environment obeys the internal structure rather than changing it. A sparrow that pecks seeds will not become a seed; it is the seed that becomes the sparrow. This is assimilation. The same is true on a psychological level. No matter what the stimulus is, it is integrated with internal structures.

Accommodation - for example, an infant who has just discovered that he can grasp what he sees. From this point on, everything he sees is assimilated according to the patterns of grasping, i.e. the object becomes an object of grasping as well as an object of looking at or sucking. But if it is a large object, then the child needs both hands, and if it is very small, the child only needs to move the fingers of one hand to grasp it. This changes the setting pattern. It will change its regulation. This is what is called “accommodation” - adapting a scheme to specific conditions.

Accommodation is determined by the object, while assimilation is determined by the subject. But, there is no accommodation without assimilation, because it is always an adaptation to something that will be assimilated according to one scheme or another.

Assimilation is a psychological term that refers to one part of the adaptation process. The term assimilation was first introduced by Professor Jean Piaget.

During the process of assimilation, we take in new information or experiences and weave them into the ideas we already have. The process of assimilation is to some extent subjective because we have a tendency to modify experience or information in such a way that it fits the concepts, ideas, and beliefs we already have.

Assimilation plays an important role in how we learn about the world around us.

During early childhood, children constantly assimilate new information and experiences into their existing knowledge about the world. However, this process does not stop during growth; it continues in adults. When encountering novelty and interpreting this experience, people constantly make small and large adjustments to their existing ideas about the world around them.

Let's take a closer look at assimilation and its role in the learning process.

How does assimilation work?

Piaget believed that there are 2 main ways in which we adapt to new experiences and information. Assimilation is the easiest method because it doesn't require much adjustment. Through this process, we add new information to the existing knowledge base, sometimes while giving a different interpretation to this new experience in a way that fits with existing information.

For example, let's imagine that your neighbors have a daughter whom you have always perceived as sweet, polite and kind.

One day you look out the window and see this girl throwing a snowball at your car. You perceive this as something rude and unkind, not at all what you would expect from this girl. How do you interpret this new information? If you use the assimilation process, you won't dwell on the girl's behavior, assuming that she did what she saw her classmates doing and that she didn't mean to be impolite.

You will not fundamentally revise your opinion about the girl, you will simply add new information to your existing knowledge. She's a kind girl, but now you know that she also has a "bad" side to her personality.

If you had applied the second method of adaptation described by Piaget, the girl's behavior would have caused you to change your opinion about her. This is a process that Piaget called accommodation, in which old ideas are replaced by new information.

Assimilation and accommodation work in tandem as part of the learning process. Some information is simply incorporated into existing schemas through the process of assimilation, and some information leads to the development of new schemas or completely transforms old ones through the process of accommodation.

More examples of assimilation

• A student learning how a new computer program works.
• A small child sees a new breed of dog that he has not seen before, and immediately points his finger at the animal and says “Dog!”
• A chef learning a new culinary technique.
• Programmer learning a new programming language.

In each of these examples, the person adds new information to an existing schema. Therefore it is described as “assimilation”. These people do not change or completely modify existing ideas, as would occur with accommodation.

Few people know what assimilation is, although we often encounter it in everyday life. This process occurs by merging different groups into one with a common goal. This process is practiced in a variety of vital areas of science, culture and psychology.

What is assimilation?

At the moment, the concept of assimilation has dozens of definitions. In each of the fields, be it medicine, biology, religion, psychology, and so on, it means the merging of one group with another, with the goal of changing at the final stage. Among the people, assimilation is the process of losing national identity through the appropriation of foreign cultural values. Thus, it led to the complete disappearance of several peoples and the complete eradication of their traditions. It comes in several types:

• natural;
• violent;
• forced.

Assimilation in sociology

This process is always present in sociological changes, since it guarantees an effective result. The question arises - what is assimilation and what does it mean to assimilate in sociology? This is a simple process of replacing a distinctive feature of society with another that came from another people. There is a certain disruption in people who were previously subject to their culture, religion or language.

The voluntary nature of transition to another culture is more attractive and this method adapts a person faster. Unfortunately, in life there are many cases of a forced nature. More often this can be observed in places where military operations take place. There are forced relocations, and the authorities decide for the people what to believe and how to behave.

Assimilation in psychology

From a psychological point of view, the reasons for assimilation arise automatically, because without it a person simply would not be able to develop harmoniously. This term refers to one of the parts of the adaptation process, which is the acquisition of new experience. Assimilation is a simple way for, because with it there is no need to accept a large amount of information. Beginning in infancy, these learning moments accumulate in memory and remain there, gradually multiplying.

"Psychotherapists have no special knowledge or wisdom about how to live. What they bring to the psychotherapy process are professional skills that help clients explore their inner beliefs and conflicts, understand existing problems and make changes in their own thoughts, emotions and behavior "

British psychologist William Styles proposed a model of assimilation of problematic experience to understand the process of change during psychotherapy. In this model, psychotherapy is understood as an activity through which the client becomes able to master or “assimilate” the painful experiences for which he sought help. A problematic experience or experience can be a feeling, idea, memory, impulse, desire or attitude that is experienced by the client as some kind of threat and disturbs his emotional balance.
Level 0: Aversion problem. The client is not aware of the problem. There is an active avoidance of topics that take him out of emotional balance. Emotions may be minimal, indicating successful avoidance, or a vague negative affect, typically anxiety, may be experienced.

Level 1: Unwanted thoughts. Thoughts associated with the discomfort experienced appear. The client prefers not to think about it; Topics for conversation are brought either by the external life circumstances of the client or by the psychotherapist. Strong negative feelings arise: anxiety, fear, anger, sadness. Despite the intensity of feelings, their connection with the content may be unclear.

Level 2: Vague awareness of the problem. The client acknowledges the existence of a problematic experience and describes thoughts associated with it and causing discomfort, but he is not yet able to clearly articulate the problem. There is acute psychological pain or panic associated with thoughts or feelings about the existing problem. After which, as the clarity of the disturbing content increases, the intensity of the emotions decreases.

Level 3: Formulation and clarification of the problem. At this stage, the client can make a clear statement of the problem that can now be worked on and influenced. The emotions are negative, but tolerable. Active, concentrated work begins to understand the problematic experience.

Level 4: Understanding/insight. Problematic experiences are formulated and comprehended; connections are made with relevant facts. Emotions may be mixed. The awareness achieved through insight can be painful, but it can also be accompanied by interest or even a pleasant "Aha" surprise. At this stage, greater clarity and scope of understanding of the problem is achieved, which usually leads to an increase in positive emotions.

Level 5: Testing in practice/development. Understanding is used to work on a problem; Specific efforts to resolve the problem are considered, but without complete success. The client may describe alternatives considered or systematically review different behavior options. The emotional tone is positive, businesslike and optimistic. During this stage, there is gradual progress in solving problems in everyday life.

Level 6: Problem solving. The client achieves a successful resolution of a specific problem. The emotions are positive, in particular the client experiences satisfaction and pride in the achievement. Attempts are being made to bring similar changes to other areas of daily life, to solve other problems. As the problem subsides, emotions become more neutral.

Level 7: Mastery. The client successfully uses the acquired method of solving problems in new situations; sometimes this happens involuntarily. When this topic comes up, emotions are positive or neutral (this is no longer something that excites).

assimilation
- according to J. Piaget - a mechanism that ensures the use of previously acquired skills and abilities in new conditions without their significant change: through it, a new object or situation is combined with a set of objects or another situation for which a scheme already exists.

Dictionary of a practical psychologist. - M.: AST, Harvest. S. Yu. Golovin. 1998.

Psychological Dictionary. THEM. Kondakov. 2000.

Large psychological dictionary. - M.: Prime-EVROZNAK. Ed. B.G. Meshcheryakova, acad. V.P. Zinchenko. 2003 .

Psychology. AND I. Dictionary reference / Transl. from English K. S. Tkachenko. - M.: FAIR PRESS. Mike Cordwell. 2000.

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