Toddlerhood Is an Essential and

Toddlerhood is an essential and crucial time for mental and physical development. As seen in this study, a simple task as crossing a bridge and using or not using some assistance is a major milestone for a toddler. Sometimes toddlers are underestimated as to how much of their cognition has developed, and we have proven that toddlers' thoughts and actions go beyond the expected.

In the study that was replicated from Berger and Adolph (2003), we tested a group of toddlers on whether or not they would be able to cross a bridge which were of varying measurements, with or without a handrail, and with or without coaxing from a parent.

In addition to the replication of the study by Berger and Adolph (2003) whom only originally measured if they toddler would cross or not, we also tested how the toddler would cross and therefore how the toddler was using a higher level of thinking, supporting further the "means-end" problem, that toddlers would use any means necessary to get the whatever end of the problems they thought necessary.

As a result, a toddlers' "means-ends" problem solving skills would enable them to complete this task successfully and their cognitive skills are advanced enough than previously thought to make decisions on which alternative would be best for them (Bauer et al. 1999).

The results showed that the results of the previous study conducted by Berger and Adolph (2003) which measured their motor skills were in fact accurate and it was also determined when the toddlers were introduced variations in the bridge and the handrail, the toddlers, would change the way they maneuvered or they thought of an alternative way to cross the different sized bridge.

We expected the toddlers to be able to use higher cognitive skills to reach a "means-ends" problem solving skill and completely cross the narrower bridge successfully by understanding the need to grasp onto the handrail in order to get across. We also expected toddlers to make more attempts at getting across the bridge with a handrail present, with a wider bridge.

As expected the results showed that the wider the bridge, the more willing the toddlers were to attempt crossing, and the more successful they would be at completely crossing the bridge. Even with an adult on the other side of the bridge coxing the toddler to cross, it was only effective on not a lot of number of toddlers, therefore proving that toddlers higher functioning of learning were the ones that influenced the toddlers to cross more so than with their parents influence.

If there is a toy enticing the toddler, the possibility crossing the bridge increased, but not to an extent that would signify that it would make a huge difference in their motivation to cross in the first place. If given more width on the bridge, the toddlers took more steps since they had more space.

The presence of a handrail did not influence their desire to grab onto the handrail or stop mid-bridge, and also did not have any effect on how long the toddlers waited before attempting to cross the bridge. Toddlers reach a milestone in which they have optimal cognitive development and in which they find whichever alternative way to reach their goal (Flavell 1985). The purpose of our study was to prove that even young toddlers can determine any means of reaching their end goal through higher process learning.

The results showed just that. Knowing all this information in the study can be crucial when trying to develop some sort of scale to determine whether a toddler is developing on track (Flavell 1985). It also proves to many that toddlers are far more advanced and have the capability of using higher functioning levels of reasoning than previously thought. The data tells us a lot about toddlerhood and how highly developed their cognition at that age could be.

The fact that from that early on, they are reserved when it comes to getting across narrower bridges compared to wider bridges demonstrates just how much they cold analyze themselves about the situation. Instead of jumping right into something, most toddlers hesitate before putting themselves in what they might consider as being dangerous. It is interesting that even as toddlers, the act of survival is innate. By hesitating more at the narrower bridge, toddlers are already noticing that it would be more dangerous to attempt such a task.

Biologically, it is already within them that the wider the bridge the more successful they would be at getting to the other side, therefore the more attempts that they make at getting to the other side by what ever means possible. If this had been a real situation with actual danger, they would be the ones to survive. Most of the results from the replication of the original study by Berger and Adolph (2003) were pretty consistent, if not exactly the same.

The wider the bridge, the more willing the toddlers were to cross. The presence of the handrail also influenced whether the toddlers were more willing to cross, even the more narrow bridges. Toddlers' ability to use higher function learning enables them to use any means possible to reach their goal, therefore supporting the "means-end" hypothesis. The data shows that toddlers find ways to get what they want and to get to where they need, by which ever way they need to.

The fact that they changed positions and moved a certain way, and took a certain amount of steps during certain sizes of the bridges just demonstrates that toddlers, as early as the age of only 16 months, have enough cognitive development to figure out how to get things done. Although it might have been expected that toddlers would be more willing to cross with a parent coaxing or encouraging them on the other end, that was not the case.

There was some significance in the results, but not enough to make a complete assumption that it positively correlated. This brings the implication although the toddler had access to assistance from the parent, it was not always taken. Children at this age are starting to show their independence and trying to take risks upon themselves (Flavell 1985). It can be inferred that this cognitive action and this innate ability to either take the risk or not take the risk upon themselves is shown by the results of this study.

Just as Berger and Adolf (2003) showed in their experiment, the same was done in this extended one. From a parenting perspective this experiment shows just how advanced their toddler could be. It puts a scale from which to measure their toddler from (Flavell 1985). An aspect of the study that could have been improved on is the diversity in the toddlers selected. Only toddlers from a white middle social class were tested and this is not a representation of toddlers everywhere.

Many z factors could have contributed to the results had there been more variation in the types of toddlers who were selected, but it would have given a bigger and better picture to how the hypotheses might not have covered every single toddler. The fact that the toddlers were from practically the same background, both racial and socioeconomic, gives the experiment some control, but doesn't cover toddlerhood completely. A toddler from a lower socioeconomic status might have environmental factors.