Berger and Adolph's (2003) Research

Berger and Adolph's (2003) research indicates how infants use handrails to navigate their surroundings and to expand their immediate environmental travels. They conclude with the observation that: As Campos and colleagues (2000) so aptly pointed out, infants' travels May help to broaden their minds; reciprocally, we have tried to show that infants' minds may enrich their travels (120).

It would be intriguing to find out whether a mutual relationship or association exists between the two, in other words whether infants who were exposed to wider environments and more scope for travel would be inclined to use handrails to navigate their passage, as opposed to those who grow up in more confined and restrained surroundings and are, consequently, less inclined to navigate them.

The implications of Campus et al., are that the more extensive infants travel -- hence the more space accorded to them to navigate -- the broader their minds may be. These well-traveled infants with broader mindsets may, inferentially, be more likely to develop use of handrails than those who are reared in more limited environments leading, presumably, to narrower mindsets. Berger and Adolph (2003) expand on that by arguing that the cycle is self-reinforcing by the use of handrails, subsequently, developing the infant's mind still further.

The whole, therefore, seems to be a reciprocally feeding (or loop-back) process. Put, in other words, an infant living in a house -- and the larger the house the better -- would, according to the above argument be more likely to use handrails (since his mind is broadened by his or her travels) than an infant inhabiting an apartment area that would be half the size of the house. My essay intends to test this hypothesis by formulating the following hypotheses: The alternative hypothesis: 1.

that infants with wide space will evidence significantly greater motivation to use handrails The null hypothesis: 2. That infants with wide space will evidence as similar a tendency to use handrails, or reduced tendency to use handrails, than infants with more constricted space. Further hypothesis will include the following: 3.

That infants who have indicate a greater tendency to use handrails will indicate expanded broadmindedness in other areas of life too, specifically in curiosity of environment and people and, conversely, that, 4: Infants in more confined environments will indicate reduced interest in environment and social instances that infants growing up in more expansive immediate home environments.

To test this proposition, I intend to conduct a cross-sectional observational study with a sample of closely matched infants, between the ages of 12 and 24 months, who originate from a similar socio-economic and cultural, background with their parents having similar educational levels and providing infants with similar levels of stimulation. A measure will be used to assess that the latter is indeed the case.

I, then intend to enroll assistants in the project and to spend several weeks in the natural home environment, where, with handrails available in the immediate vicinity, we will videotape the infant's use and progress with handrails as well.