Jean Piaget argued that cognitive development is a process of adaptation to one's environment and to the numerous new experiences a person encounters from it. Piaget suggested that humans always seek cognitive balance, or harmony between thoughts and the environment, and this occurs through two processes: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation occurs when a person adapts a new experience or stimulus to his or her existing schemas. Adaptation, however, occurs when an existing schema no longer works and a person must adapt the schema itself to the new experience (CrashCourse, 2014b). For example, when I was a child and got my first DVD, I used my existing schemas for a disc and assumed it was a computer game or a CD since DVD didn't fit into my schema for movies, which exclusively included VHS tapes. . I assimilated the DVD into my existing scheme and attempted to use the disc accordingly. When that didn't work, I had to adapt my scheme for movies by recognizing the DVD as a copy of a movie. Overall, exposure and adaptation to new experiences can help you learn and expand