Describe how the processes of assimilation and accommodation might come into play during a child's thought process on a visit to a zoo

What will be an ideal response?

At a visit to the zoo, a child's parent will name the animals. When the child sees a lion for the first time, his mother tells him, "That's a lion.". A few minutes later a lion cub comes into view and the child says, "Lion" illustrating the process of assimilation. He took in the new information about the lion cub and understood that it was the same as the much larger lion that he had previously seen. When they visit the tiger cage next, the child says, "Lion" because he now believes that furry animals with four legs that resemble big cats are all lions. His mother says, "No, that's a tiger, not a lion.". When his mother corrects him, the child is forced to accommodate to this new experience and change his existing knowledge which illustrates the process of accommodation.