Question

when infants apply their schemas in novel situations, they are engaging in:
assimilation.
accommodation.
object permanence.
habituation.

Explanation:

Piaget's theory of cognitive development includes the concept of assimilation. Assimilation occurs when infants use their existing schemas (mental frameworks) to understand new experiences. For example, a baby who knows how to suck on a bottle might try to suck on a new toy (applying the sucking schema to a new object). Habituation is a decrease in response to a repeated stimulus. Object permanence is the understanding that objects exist even when out of sight. Accommodation involves changing schemas to fit new information. Since the question is about applying existing schemas (which is assimilation), we focus on that concept.

Answer:

Assimilation.