The problem of assimilation of a person's real psychological experience briefly. What is the assimilation of experience in psychology

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

Psychological Dictionary. THEM. Kondakov. 2000 .

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

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

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

In 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 somewhat subjective, because we have a tendency to modify experience or information in such a way that it fits with the ideas, ideas, beliefs that we already have.

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

In early childhood, children constantly assimilate new information and experiences into their existing knowledge of the world. However, this process does not stop during growth, it continues in adults. Faced with novelty and interpreting this experience, people constantly make small and large corrections 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 a lot of tweaking. Through this process, we add new information to the existing knowledge base, sometimes while reinterpreting 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 resort to the process of assimilation, you will not dwell on the girl's behavior, assuming that she did what she saw her classmates do and that she did not want to be impolite.

You will not radically revise your opinion about the girl, you will simply add new information to your existing knowledge. She is a kind girl, but now you know that she also has a "naughty" part of her personality.

If you applied Piaget's second method of adaptation, the girl's behavior would make you change your mind 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 studying the operation of a new computer program.
• 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.
• A programmer learning a new programming language.

In each of these examples, a person is adding new information to an existing schema. Therefore it is described as "assimilation". These people do not change or completely modify existing ideas, as accommodation would.

Few people know what assimilation is, although we often encounter it in everyday life. This process occurs by merging different groups into one that has a common goal. This process is practiced in various 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 denotes the merging of one group with another, with the aim of changing at the final stage. Among the people, assimilation is the process of losing national identity by appropriating 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? It is a simple process of replacing a distinctive feature of a society with another that comes from another people. There is a kind of failure in people who were previously subject to their culture, religion or language.

The voluntary nature of the transition to a different culture is more attractive and this method quickly adapts a person. Unfortunately, there are many cases of coercion in life. More often it can be observed in places where hostilities take place. Forced migrations happen there, and the government decides for the people what to believe in 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 could not 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. Starting in infancy, these moments of learning accumulate in memory and remain there, gradually multiplying.

Formation of cognitive structures

J. Piaget believed that the most important result of the interaction of maturation and experience is the formation of "cognitive structures" by the child. The primary organizational, cognitive structures that form in infancy are sensorimotor schemes. But after the age of two years, according to J. Piaget, the child's cognitive structures become integrated, or mental.

One of the most important cognitive structures is the operation. According to J. Piaget, an operation is a mental action that has the property of reversibility. This action can be performed in the forward and reverse order, so that the person mentally returns to the beginning of the logical sequence.

An example would be planning a series of moves in checkers or chess, and then mentally stepping back to the beginning. Squaring the number 2 with a result of 4 (operation) and taking the root of 4. Similarly, 8 pebbles can be divided into different subgroups - for example, into 4 and 4, into 5 and 3, or 7 and 1 - and then recombine them into one set .

Assimilation and accommodation as adaptation mechanisms

J. Piaget considered human thinking as a specific form of biological adaptation, in which a complex organism adapts to an equally complex environment. People constantly interact with the world around them, react to new experience by structuring and forming new organizational structures. Adaptation occurs through two complementary processes: assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation is called "such an interaction with the environment in which the organism, through incorporation, adapts it to its own structures." New objects or representations are interpreted on the basis of and taking into account previously learned representations and concepts. For example, a five-year-old girl was only familiar with "prototypical" birds (sparrows, tits, crows, starlings, etc.). Therefore, in her view, a bird is something living, flying, with wings, a tail and a beak. At the zoo, she meets an ostrich for the first time and assimilates its image, including the ostrich in the category of birds. Naturally, she may be somewhat puzzled by the size of the ostrich and the fact that it does not fly. Her uncertainty about whether the ostrich is a bird will lead her into a state called by J. Piaget, disequilibrium.

An additional process in relation to assimilation, according to J. Piaget, is accommodation. This happens when the characteristics of the environment do not fit into the ideas that a person has. Thanks to accommodation, representations also change in response to changes in environmental conditions. For example, through accommodation, a five-year-old girl, having received information about an ostrich that is new to her, can change her idea of ​​​​birds, for example, she can decide that not all birds fly. She may also form a new concept of "ostrich", different from her previously formed concept of "birds". As a result of accommodation, this girl will temporarily be in a state of equilibrium, or cognitive balance. Her experience and ideas will be quite consistent with each other.

J. Piaget suggested that any person, like any organism, strives for balance. When a person is faced with an unfamiliar situation, cognitive balance is disturbed. To restore it, the processes of assimilation and accommodation are included. Establishing a balance is called balancing.

According to J. Piaget, assimilation and accommodation almost always accompany each other. First, a person tries to comprehend a new experience, using existing ideas and solutions (assimilation). If this fails, he is forced to make changes to his own ideas (accommodation).

Any adaptive behavior contains elements of assimilation and accommodation, but their ratio always depends on the specific form of activity. As an example of almost entirely assimilative behavior, the fantasy games of young children can serve. Depending on the plot of the game, a sofa in this situation can become a ship or an airplane, a composition of chairs can become a house or a fence. On the contrary, imitation is essentially accommodation; children adjust their actions to the actions of their chosen role models.

Over time, imbalance occurs less and less. There is an enrichment of the repertoire of concepts and structures, and a person no longer has to deal with completely new situations so often. An adult is unlikely to encounter an object that does not fit into any of the categories known to him. And in this case, to achieve cognitive balance, he only needs to make minor changes to existing categories. However, the processes of assimilation and adaptation accompany our whole life, because the world is dynamic and we have to constantly adapt to changing circumstances.

• Donaldson M. Children's minds. Glasgow, 1978. P. 140.

"Psychotherapists do not have much knowledge or wisdom about how to live. What they bring to the process of psychotherapy is professional skills that help clients explore their internal representations and conflicts, understand existing problems and bring about changes in their own thoughts, emotions and behavior. ."

British psychologist William Stiles proposed a model of problem experience assimilation to understand the process of change in the course of 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 problem 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 to the problem. The client is not aware of the problem. There is an active avoidance of topics that bring him out of emotional balance. Emotions may be minimal, indicating successful avoidance, or a vague negative affect, usually anxiety, is experienced.

Level 1: Unwanted thoughts. There are thoughts associated with the experienced discomfort. The client prefers not to think about it; topics for conversation are brought in either by the external life circumstances of the client or by the therapist. Strong negative feelings rise: anxiety, fear, anger, sadness. Despite the intensity of the feelings, their relationship to the content may not be clear.

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

Level 3: Statement and clarification of the problem. At this stage, the client can make a clear statement of the problem, which can now be worked on and influenced. Emotions are negative, but bearable. Active, concentrated work begins to understand the problem experience.

Level 4: Understanding/Insight. Problem experience is formulated and comprehended; connections are made with relevant facts. Emotions can be mixed. Awareness achieved through insights can cause painful feelings, but can also be accompanied by interest or even pleasant surprise such as "Aha". At this stage, a 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; Concrete efforts are being considered to resolve the problem, but without complete success. The client may describe the alternatives considered, or systematically review different behaviors. The emotional tone is positive, businesslike and optimistic. At 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. 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 everyday life, to solve other problems. As the problem subsides, the emotions become more neutral.

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