Piaget believes that children build mental structures in their minds. What are they called?

📌 Core Theoretical Concept:

According to Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development, children are active constructors of knowledge who build mental models of the world. Piaget stated that children build organized patterns of behavior and thought in their minds, which are called 'schemas'. A schema can be defined as a mental framework or blueprint of knowledge that helps individuals organize and interpret incoming information. Whenever a child encounters new environmental stimuli, they rely on these pre-existing mental structures to make sense of the world. Therefore, the fundamental building block of cognitive modeling and mental organization is termed a schema.

📊 Key Exam Points:

• Schema: Organized mental structures and patterns of knowledge stored in the brain.
• Assimilation: Fitting new information into existing schemas without modifying them.
• Accommodation: Modifying existing schemas or creating new ones to fit new experiences.
• Distractor Analysis: 'Code' is not a Piagetian term; accommodation and assimilation are functional processes related to schemas, not the mental structures themselves.