Schema assimilation is best described as adding related knowledge to an existing schema.

• A. modifying existing knowledge to fit new information
• B. adding related knowledge to a schema
• C. forgetting information
• D. creating a new schema

Answer: (B)

Assimilation involves expanding what you already know by adding related information to an existing schema. When you encounter new details that fit neatly into what you’ve already understood, you incorporate them without changing the basic idea. For example, if you know what a dog is and you learn that a beagle is a type of dog, that new information is added to the dog category. It doesn’t alter your idea of what a dog is; it simply enlarges it. The other options describe different processes: changing your existing knowledge to fit new information would modify your current idea, not simply add to it; forgetting information isn’t about building connections; and creating a new schema would be starting a new category instead of growing an existing one.