Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–4Cite as

Assimilation

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 46 Accesses

Synonyms

Absorption; Adaption; Adjustment

Definition

The act of absorbing or adjusting experiences, information, etc. into an existing system.

Introduction

The term assimilation describes the process of absorbing or adjusting experiences or information into an existing system. It is derived from the Latin word assimilatio, meaning “likeness” or “similarity.” Assimilation hence refers to making something more similar. In psychology, the term is used in various theoretical circumstances with differing connotations. We will focus on three highly influential theoretical models in which the concept of assimilation plays a central role: (a) Jean Piaget’s genetic theory of learning, (b) the inclusion-exclusion model of social judgment formation by Schwarz and Bless, and (c) John Berry’s theory of acculturation strategies.

Jean Piaget’s Genetic Theory of Learning

Developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (1936) described his work as genetic epistemology, i.e., the scientific study of the origins...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J. (1936). Origins of intelligence in the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J. (1957). Construction of reality in the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, N., & Bless, H. (1992). Constructing reality and its alternatives: Assimilation and contrast effects in social judgment. In L. L. Martin & A. Tesser (Eds.), The construction of social judgment (pp. 217–245). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Ulrich Kühnen & Dora Simunovic

Authors
  1. Ulrich Kühnen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dora Simunovic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ulrich Kühnen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of South Carolina - Beaufort, Bluffton, SC, USA

    Carey Fitzgerald

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Kühnen, U., Simunovic, D. (2018). Assimilation. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2408-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2408-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation