"On many college campuses, tensions are sharper than ever, and for some students and faculty, simply sharing an idea carries a deep sense of hesitation. My work over the past several decades has focused on teaching evidence-based thinking to navigate such charged environments. This approach becomes especially relevant when we consider the twin processes psychologists call assimilation and accommodation, which describe how we learn and adapt to new information."
"Assimilation occurs when we fit new information into our existing mental framework without altering it. For example, a child might call any coloring tool a "crayon," even a pen or marker, because they fit the new object into an existing category. Accommodation, by contrast, requires adjusting our mental framework to account for something new. When the child encounters watercolor paints that require a brush and water, they must revise their understanding to recognize that not all coloring tools work the same way."
Many college campuses exhibit sharp tensions that create hesitation among students and faculty about sharing ideas. Evidence-based thinking is presented as a tool to navigate these charged social environments. Psychologists distinguish assimilation and accommodation as twin processes of learning: assimilation fits new information into existing mental frameworks, while accommodation adjusts frameworks to incorporate novel information. Childhood examples illustrate how accommodation can be slower or resisted. Assimilation remains common throughout life and becomes especially difficult when new information conflicts with strongly held beliefs. Algorithmic and social environments tend to reinforce assimilation and preexisting views.
Read at Psychology Today
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