Study Guide - Profed 101a - Module 5

FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.
0 10-July-2020
Study Guide in ProfEd 101a (The Child and Adolescent Learner and Learning Principles) Module No. 5
STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. ___ 5
INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

MODULE OVERVIEW
This stage marks the physical growth during the first three years. It is also considered as
one of the most remarkable and busiest times of development. Rapid changes in the infant's body
and brain support learning, motor skills, and perpetual capacities. Between birth and age three,
children rapidly achieve many important milestones that create the foundation for later growth and
development. Each child grows and develops at his or her own rate and children display
developmental landmarks at different times.
MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Trace the physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development that you have gone through
as infants and toddlers.
2. Identify factors that enhance/impede the physical development of infants and toddlers.
3. Present your own or others’ research on the physical, cognitive and socio-emotional
development of infants and toddlers.
4. Draw implications of physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development
principles/processes and concepts to child care, education and parenting.
LEARNING CONTENTS (Physical Development of Infants and Toddlers)
1. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

We have just traced the developmental process before birth. We shall continue the
developmental process by following the infant or the bay who is just born up to when he reaches
age 2. The period that comes after prenatal or antenatal stage is infancy which, in turn, is followed
by toddlerhood. Infancy and toddlerhood span the first two years of life.
1.1. Activity: Read and reflect! 

Study the Figures below. Look closely at the changes in the sizes of the human body parts
as a person grows.
https://slideplayer.com/slide/8618463/
1. What do you notice about the size of the head in relation to the other parts of the body
as a person grows older?
2. Does physical development begin from the top or below? From the side to the center?
Explain your answer.
PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020
1.2. Body Growth

Physical growth occurs rapidly during the first 2 years of life. The transition from infancy to
toddlerhood - the period that spans the second year of life-is marked by the infant's switch
from crawling to walking.
1.2.1. Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal Patterns

As you learned in Module 1, the cephalocaudal trend is the postnatal growth from
conception to 5 months when the head grows more than the body. This cephalocaudal
trend of growth that applies to the development of the fetus also applies in the first months
after birth. Infants learn to use their upper limbs before their lower limbs. The same pattern
occurs in the head area because the top parts of the head – the eyes and the brain – grow
faster than the lower parts such as the jaw. The cephalocaudal trend is an organized
pattern of physical growth and motor control that proceeds from head to toe; growth of the
head and chest occurs before that of the trunk and legs.
The proximodistal trend is the prenatal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus
grows from the inside of the body outwards. This also applies in the first months after birth
as shown in the earlier maturation of muscular control of the trunk and arms, followed by
that of the hands and fingers. When referring to motor development, the proximodistal trend
refers to the development of motor skills from the center of the body outward. The
proximodistal trend is a pattern of physical growth and motor control that proceeds from the
center of the body outward; growth of the arms and legs occurs before that of the hands
1.2.2. Height and Weight
 It’s normal for newborn babies to drop 5 to 10 percent of their body weight within a
couple of weeks of birth. That is due to the baby’s adjustment to neonatal feeding. Once
they adjust to sucking, swallowing and digesting, they grow rapidly.
 Breastfed babies are typically heavier than bottle-fed babies through the first six
months. After six months, breastfed babies usually weigh less than bottle-fed babies.
 During the first 2 years, the body grows more rapidly than at any time after birth.
 By the end of the first year the infant's length is 50 percent greater than it was at birth,
and by 2 years of age it is 75 percent greater.
 Birth weight has doubled by 5 months of age, tripled by I year, and quadrupled at 2
years.
 Research indicates that these height and weight gains occur in little growth spurts.
 In infancy, girls are slightly shorter and lighter than boys.
1.3. Skeletal Growth

Children of the same age differ in rate of physical growth; some make faster progress
toward a mature body size than others. But current body size is not enough to tell us how
quickly a child's physical growth is moving along. An infant's body has about 300 bones at
birth. These eventually fuse (grow together) to form the 206 bones that adults have. Some of a
baby's bones are made entirely of a special material called cartilage. Other bones in a baby
are partly made of cartilage.
1.3.1. General Skeletal Growth
The best way of estimating a child's physical maturity is to use skeletal age, a measure of
development of the bones of the body. Body growth is controlled by a complex set of
hormonal secretions released by the pituitary gland and regulated by the hypothalamus.
Individual and cultural differences in body size and rate of maturation are influenced by
both heredity and environment.
Physical growth is an asynchronous process because different body systems have their
own unique, carefully timed patterns of maturation. The embryonic skeleton is first formed
out of soft, pliable tissue called cartilage. In the sixth week of pregnancy, cartilage cells
begin to harden into bone, a gradual process that continues throughout childhood and
adolescence (Moore & Persaud, 2008). Just before birth, special growth centers, called

epiphyses, appear at the two extreme ends of each of the long bones of the body.
Cartilage cells continue to be produced at the growth plates of these epiphyses, which
increase in number throughout childhood and then, as growth continues, get thinner and
disappear. After that, no further growth in bone length is possible. Skeletal age can be
estimated by X-raying the bones to determine the number of epiphyses and the extent to
which they are fused.
1.3.2. Growth of the Skull
When a baby is born, its skull is not the solid single piece of bone it will become later in
life. To allow the baby to pass through the birth canal, as well as to allow for additional brain
growth, the skull is initially separated into several different parts. While these separations
are necessary in early life, they make an infant's head particularly fragile. Because of the
large increases in brain size, skull growth during the first 2 years is very rapid. An infant's
skull is made up of six bones. During the first few years of life, these bones are not fused
but held together by a type of stretchy tissue called cranial sutures. There are two spaces
in the skull that are not covered by bone but only by the cranial sutures. These spaces are
called fontanels, or soft spots.
1.4. Brain Development

Among the most dramatic changes in the brain in the first two years of life are the
spreading connections of dendrites to each other.
1.4.1. Myelination, the process by which the axons are covered and insulated by layers of fat
cells, begins prenatally and continues after birth. The process of myelination increases the
speed at which information travels through the nervous system.
 At birth, the newborn’s brain is about 25 percent of its adult weight. By the second
birthday, the brain is about 75% of its adult weight.
 Shortly after birth, a baby’s brain produces trillions more connections between
neurons than it can possibly use. The brain eliminates connections that are
seldom or never used (Santrock, 2002). The infant’s brain is literally waiting for
experiences to determine how connections are made.
 Depressed brain activity has been found in children who grew up in a depressed
environment (Circhetti 2001, cited by Santrock, 2002).
1.5. Motor Development

Along this aspect of motor development, infants and toddlers begin from reflexes, to gross
motor skills and fine motor skills.
1.5.1. Reflexes
The newborn has some basic reflexes which are, of course automatic, and serve as
survival mechanisms before they have the opportunity to learn. Many reflexes which are
present at birth will generally subside within a few months as the baby grows and matures.
There are many different reflexes. Some of the most common reflexes that babies have
are:
1.5.1.1. Rooting reflex: Most evident when an infant’s cheek is stroked. The baby responds by
turning his or her head in the direction of the touch and should automatically open their
mouth for feeding.
1.5.1.2. Sucking reflex: Initiated when something touches the roof of an infant’s mouth.
Infants have a strong sucking reflex which helps to ensure they can latch onto a bottle
or breast. This reflex is very strong in some infants and they may need to suck on a
pacifier for comfort.
1.5.1.3. Gripping reflex: Babies will grasp anything that is placed in their palm. The strength of
this grip I strong, and most babies can support their entire weight in their grip.
1.5.1.4. Babinski/Curling reflex: when the inner sole of the baby’s foot is stroked, the infant
respond by curling his or her toes. When the outer sole of the baby’s foot is stroked,
the infant will respond by spreading out their toes.

1.5.1.5. Startle/Moro reflex: Infants will respond to sudden sounds or movements by throwing
their arms and legs out, and throwing their heads back. Most infants will usually cry
when startled and proceed to pull their limbs back into their bodies.
1.5.1.6. Galant reflex: This is shown when an infant’s middle or lower back is stroked next to
the spinal cord. The baby will respond by curving his or her body toward the side which
is being stroked.
1.5.1.7. Tonic neck reflex: This is demonstrated in infants who are placed on their abdomens.
Whichever side the child’s head is facing, the limbs on that side will straighten, while
the opposite limbs will curl.
1.5.1.8. Parachute reflex: The parachute reflex typically develops when your baby is between
5 and 9 months old. You may want to ask your pediatrician when they’ll start looking
for this reflex in your baby and how they test for it. When they feel it’s age appropriate
for your baby, they may demonstrate the test. They will hold the baby upright. Quickly
but gently rotate baby’s body to face forward and downward as if they were falling.
Your baby will extend their arms forward, often with their fingers spread, as if they
were trying to cushion or break the fall.
1.5.2. Gross Motor Skills

Study the figure below. See how you developed in your gross motor skills.
http://parklandplayers.com/sequential-motor-development/
It is always a source of excitement for parents to witness dramatic changes in the infant’s
first year of life. This dramatic motor development is shown in babies unable to even lift
their heads to being able to grab things off the cabinet, to chase the ball and to walk away
from parent.
1.5.3. Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills, are skills that involve a refined use of the small muscles controlling the
hand, fingers and thumb. The development of these skills allows one to be able to complete
tasks such as writing, drawing and buttoning.
The ability to exhibit fine motor-skills involve activities that involve precise eye-hand
coordination. The development of reaching and grasping becomes more defined during the
first two years of life. Initially, infants show only crude shoulder and elbow movements, but
later they show wrist movements, hand rotation and coordination of eye and hand movements.
1.6. Factors Affecting Early Physical Growth

1.6.1. Heredity
 Catch-up growth is physical growth that returns to its genetically determined path after
being delayed by environmental factors.
 When environmental conditions are adequate, height and rate of physical growth are
largely determined by heredity.

Weight is also affected by genetic make-up. However, the environment- especially

nutrition- does play an important role.
1.6.2. Nutrition
 A baby's energy needs are twice as great as those of an adult.
 Twenty-five percent of an infant's caloric intake is devoted to growth. If a baby's diet is
deficient in either quantity or quality of nutrients, growth can be permanently stunted.
 Breastfeeding versus Bottle-Feeding:
a) Breast-feeding offers many nutritional and health advantages over bottle
feeding.
b) Breast-fed babies in impoverished regions of the world are less likely to be
malnourished and more likely to survive the first year of life.
c) Some mothers cannot nurse because of physiological or medical reasons.
d) Breast milk is easily digestible and, as a result, breast-fed babies become
hungry more often than bottle-fed infants.
e) Breast- and bottle-fed youngsters do not differ in psychological adjustment.
 Are Chubby Babies at Risk for Later Overweight and Obesity?
a) Only a slight correlation exists between fatness in infancy and obesity at older
ages.
b) Infant and toddlers can eat nutritious foods freely, without risk of becoming too
fat.
c) Physical exercise also guards against excessive weight gain.
 Malnutrition:
a) Recent evidence indicates that 40 to 60 percent of the world's children do not
get enough to eat.
b) Marasmus is a wasted condition of the body usually appearing in the first year
of life that is caused by a diet low in all essential nutrients.
c) Kwashiorkor is a disease usually appearing between I and 3 years of age that
is caused by a diet low in protein. Symptoms include an enlarged belly, swollen
feet, hair loss, skin rash, and irritable, listless behavior.
d) Children who survive these forms of malnutrition grow to be smaller in all body
dimensions and their brains can be seriously affected.
1.6.3. Emotional Well-Being
 Non-organic failure to thrive is a growth disorder usually present by 18 months of age
that is caused by lack of parental love.
 If the disorder is not corrected in infancy, some children remain small and have lasting
cognitive and emotional problems.
1.7. Newborns’ Perceptions

1.7.1. Can newborns see?
The newborn’s vision is about 10 to 30 times lower than normal adult vision. By 6 months
of age, vision becomes better and by the first birthday, the infant’s vision approximates that
of an adult. (Banks & Salpatek, 1983 cited by Santrock, 2002)
Infants look at different things for different lengths of time. In an experiment conducted by
Robert Fantz (1963 cited by Santrock, 2002), it was found out that infants preferred to look
at patterns such as faces and concentric circles rather than at color or brightness. Based on
this results, it is likely that “pattern perception has an innate basis” (Santrock, 2002).
Among the first few things that babies learn to recognize is their mother’s face, as mother
feeds and nurses them.
1.7.2. Can newborns hear?
The sense of hearing in an infant develops much before the birth of the baby. When in the
womb, the baby hears his/her mother’s heartbeats, the grumbling of his/her stomach, the
mother’s voice and music. How soothing it must have been for you to listen to your
mother’s lullaby.
Infants’ sensory thresholds are somewhat higher than those of adult which means that

stimulus must be louder to be heard by a newborn than by an adult.

1.7.3. Can newborns differentiate odors?
In an experiment conducted by MacFarlane (1975) “young infants who were breastfed
showed a clear preference for smelling their mother’s breast pad when they were only two
days old. This shows that it requires several days of experience to recognize their mother’s
breast pad odor.”
1.7.4. Can newborns feel pain? Do they respond to touch?

They do feel pain. Newborn males show a higher level of cortisol (an indicator of stress)
after a circumcision than prior to the surgery (Taddio, et al, 1997 cited by Santrock, 2002).
Babies respond to touch. In the earlier part of this Module on motor development, you
learned that a newborn automatically sucks an object placed in his/her mouth, or a touch of
the cheek makes the newborn turn his/her head toward the side that was touched in an
apparent effort to find something to suck.
1.7.5. Can newborns distinguish the different tastes?
In a study conducted with babies only two hours old, babies made different facial
expressions when they tasted sweet, sour and bitter solutions (Rosenstein and Oster,
1988, cited by Santrock, 2002).
When saccharin was added to the amniotic fluid of a near-term fetus, increased
swallowing was observed.
This indicates that sensitivity to taste might be present before birth.
1.7.6. Do infants relate information through several senses? In short, are infants capable of
intermodal perception?
Intermodal perception is the ability to relate, connect information about two or more
sensory modalities such as vision and hearing.
In a study conducted by Spelke and Owsley (1979), it was found out that as early as 3 ½
months old, infants looked more at their mother when they also heard her voice and longer
at their father when they also heard his voice.
This capacity for intermodal perception or ability to connect information coming through
various modes gets sharpened considerably through experience.

1.8. A Summary of What Infants and Toddlers Can Do Physically



Corpuz, Brenda B., et.al. The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles. Lorimar Publishing Inc. 2018
LEARNING ACTIVITY 1
LEARNING CONTENTS (Cognitive Development of Infants and Toddlers)
2. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Infants and toddlers are born ready to learn. They learn through cuddling with a caregiver,
listening to language, trying out sounds, stretching on the floor, reaching for objects, tasting foods,
and exploring their environments in countless ways every day. Their brains go through amazing
changes during the first three years of life. This lesson will highlight cognitive developmental
milestones for infants and toddlers.
2.1. Activity: Read, analyze & recall! 

Read the story of Laurent, Lucienne and Jacqueline, three children of Piaget whom he
observed. After reading and re-reading, make a summary outline of the behaviors of the three
children separately. Don’t forget to indicate the age of each child. This can help you in the next
activity.
The following provide a glimpse of Piaget’s observations of his children’s cognitive
development in infancy (Piaget, 1952). These are lifted from Santrock, 2002.
 At 21 days of age, Laurent finds his thumb after three attempts; once he finds his thumb,
prolonged sucking begins. But, when he is placed on his back, he doesn’t know how to
coordinate the movement of his arms with that of his mouth; his hands draw back, even
when his lips seek them.
 During the third month, thumb sucking becomes less important to Laurent because of new
visual and auditory interests. But, when he cries, his thumb goes to the rescue.
 Toward the end, Lucienne’s thrusts her feet at the doll and makes it move. Afterward, she
looks at her motionless foot for a second, then kicks at the doll again. She has no visual
control of her foot because her movements are the same whether she only looks at the
doll or it is placed over her head. By contrast, she does have tactile control of her foot;
when she tries to kick the doll and misses, she slows her foot movements to improve her

aim.
 At 11 months, while seated, Jacqueline shakes a little bell. She then pauses abruptly so
she can delicately place the bell in front of her right foot; the she kicks the bell hard.
Unable to recapture the bell, she grasps a ball and places it in the same location where the
bell was. She gives the ball a firm kick.
 At 1 year, 2 months, Jacqueline holds in her hands an object that is new to her; a round,
flat box that she turns over and shakes; then she rubs it against her crib. She lets it go and
tries to pick it up again. She succeeds only in touching it with her index finger, being
unable to fully reach and grasp it. She keeps trying to grasp it and presses to the edge of
her crib. She makes the box tilt up, but it nonetheless falls again. Jacqueline shows an
interest in this result and studies the fallen box.
 At 1 year, 8 months, Jacqueline arrives at a closed door with a blade of grass in each
hand. She stretches her right hand toward the doorknob but detects that she cannot turn it
without letting go of the grass, so she puts the grass on the floor, opens the door, picks up
the grass again, and then enters. But, when she wants to leave the room, things get
complicated. She puts the grass on the floor and grasps the doorknob. Then she perceives
that, by pulling the door toward her, she simultaneously chases away the grass that she
had placed between the door and the threshold. She then picks up the grass and places it
out of the door’s range of movement.
Answer the following questions:
1. Do you remember anything about yourself when you were two years old?
2. At what age were your first memories?
3. Based on your observations or experiences with your others/sisters/nieces/nephews,
as a group trace the language development of an infant until he/she grows into a
toddler.
4. It is said that children learn language faster than adults. Why is this so? Give your
hypothesis.
Analysis:
1. There are four stages of cognitive development according to Piaget – sensorimotor, the
preoperational, the concrete operational and the formal operational stage. These were
discussed in Module 3, Lesson 2. This lesson will focus on the sensorimotor stage,
Piaget’s stage that covers the infant and the toddler’s cognitive development.
Here are the 6 sub-stages of the sensorimotor developmental stage (Santrock, 2002):
Sensorimotor stage
The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages of cognitive development. “In this
stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences
(such as seeing and hearing) with physical, motoric actions. Infants gain knowledge of the
world from the physical actions they perform on it. An infant progress from reflexive, instinctual
action at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought toward the end of the”. Piaget divided the
sensorimotor stage into six sub-stages:
Sub-Stage Age Description
1. Simple Birth – 6 Coordination of sensation and action through reflexive
Reflexes weeks behaviors. Three primary reflexes are described by Piaget:
sucking of objects in the mouth, following moving or
interesting objects with the eyes, and closing of the hand
when an object makes contact with the palm (palmar grasp).
Over the first six weeks of life, these reflexes begin to
become voluntary actions; for example, the palmar reflex
becomes intentional grasping. (Remember the other
reflexes discussed in this module, Lesson 1?)
2. First habits 6 weeks – Coordination of sensation of sensation and two types of
and primary 4 months schemes: habits (reflex) and primary circular reactions.

circular Primary reaction because the action is focused on the

reactions infant’s body. Circular reaction because it is a repetition of
phase an action that initially occurred by chance. As an example of
this type of reaction, infants might repeat the motion of
passing their hand before their face. Also at this phase,
passive reaction, caused by classical or operant
conditioning, can begin. Infants tend to repeat interesting
sensations.
3. Secondary 4-8 Development of habits. Infants become more object-
circular months oriented, moving beyond self-preoccupation repeat actions
reactions that bring interesting or pleasurable results. This stage is
phase associated primarily with the development of coordination
between vision and perceptions. Three new abilities occur at
this stage: intentional grasping for a desired object,
secondary circular reactions, and differentiations between
ends and means.
At this stage, infants will intentionally grasp the air in the
direction of a desired object, often to the amusement of
friends and family. Secondary circular reactions, or the
repetition of an action involving an external object begin; for
example, moving a switch to turn on a light repeatedly. This
means that a secondary action is focused on an object of an
infant. The differentiation between means and ends also
occurs. This is perhaps one of the most important stages of
a child’s growth as it signifies the dawn of logic.
4. Coordination 8-12 Coordination of vision and touch-hand-eye coordination; of
of reactions months schemes and intentionality. This stage is associated
stage primarily with the development of logic and the coordination
secondary between means and ends. This is an extremely important
circular stage of development, holding what Piaget calls the “first
proper intelligence”. Also, this stage marks the beginning of
goal orientation, the deliberate planning of steps to meet an
objective. The action is directed towards a goal.
5. Tertiary 12-18 Infants intrigued by the many properties of objects and by
circular months the many properties of objects and by the many things they
reactions, can make happen to objects; they experiment with new
novelty and behavior. This stage is associated primarily with the
curiosity discovery of new means to meet goals. Piaget describes the
child at this juncture as the “young scientist”, conducting
pseudo-experiments to discover new methods of meeting
challenges.
6. Internalizatio 18-24 Infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and dorn
n of schemes months enduring mental representations. This stage is associated
(invention of primarily with the beginnings of insight, or true creativity.
new means This marks the passage into the preoperational stage.
through Evidence of an internal representational system.
mental Symbolizing the problem-solving sequence before actually
combination) responding.
By the end of the sensorimotor period, objects are both separate from the self and
permanent. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even
when they cannot be seen, heard or touched.
2. Go back to Piaget’s children – Laurent, Lucienne and Jacqueline – line. Determine the
sub-stage of sensorimotor development that was demonstrated by each child.

3. Based on your experiences with children, share observed behaviors that illustrate any of
the sub-stages of sensorimotor developmental stage.
Learning and Remembering Guide Questions:
4. Based on the experiences shared, is it more correct to say that an infant does not
remember anything during infancy?
5. Is it safe to say that memory begins at age three?
Language Development Guide Questions:
6. Do all toddlers learn language at the same pace?
7. Are there toddlers that engage in telegraphic speech immediately without passing through
one-word stage and two-word stage in language development?
8. Do infants have an innate capacity to learn language? Even if they are not taught a
language, can infants and toddlers learn that language?
2.2. Sensorimotor stage

 An analysis of the 6 sub-stages of the sensorimotor stage of Piaget’s cognitive
development shows that development begins from reflexive behaviors to more refined and
more coordinated activities.
 Piaget’s sub-stages are termed circular because the adaptive behavior to the world
involves repeated actions.
 Primary circular reactions are oriented toward the infant’s own body, whereas secondary
circular reactions are aimed toward the environment including others.
 Secondary circular reactions are repetitive actions that involve recreating events which 4-
10 month old babies observe outside of their own bodies, such as making their mobile crib
shake by kicking their legs.
 Tertiary circular reactions, seen from approximately 10 to 18 months, is when a baby
does things over and over again, just a little differently each time.
 Acquiring the sense of object permanence is one of the infant’s most important
accomplishments, according to Piaget.
2.3. Learning Capacities

Learning is the process that results in relatively permanent change in behavior based on
experience. Infants learn in a variety of ways.
2.3.1. Classical Conditioning
In classical conditioning (Pavlovian), learning occurs by association when a stimulus
that evokes a certain response becomes associated with a different stimulus that originally
did not cause that response. After the two stimuli associate in the subject's brain, the new
stimulus then elicits the same response as the original.
 An unconditioned stimulus (UCS), say, a nipple inserted into the mouth, elicits a
reflexive unlearned response (unconditioned response, UR), sucking.
 The infant can become conditioned to the nipple (now a conditioned stimulus, CS)
so that sucking occurs as soon as the baby sees a nipple (now a conditioned
response, CR).
For example, Little Albert was conditioned to be afraid of

white rats.
–Loud noise (UCS) = fear (UCR)
–Loud noise (UCR) + white rat (CS) = fear
–White rat (CS) = fear (CR)
2.3.2. Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which a spontaneous behavior is followed
by a stimulus that changes the probability that the behavior will occur again.
A reinforcer is a stimulus that increases the occurrence of a response. The removal of a
desirable stimulus or the presenting of an unpleasant one to decrease the occurrence of a

response is called punishment. Operant conditioning allows researchers to determine what

stimuli babies perceive and which ones they prefer. Sudden infant death syndrome, a
major cause of infant mortality, may result when problems in brain function prevent babies
from learning certain lifesaving responses.
2.3.2.1. Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows.
There are two kinds of reinforcers:
2.3.2.1.1. Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are presented
after the behavior. In situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response
or behavior is strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a
direct reward.
2.3.2.1.2. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or
outcomes after the display of a behavior. In these situations, a response is
strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant.
In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.
2.3.3. Imitation
Newborn babies come into the world with a primitive ability to learn through imitation—by
copying the behavior of another person. Infants from 2 days to several weeks old imitating
adult facial expressions (Field et al., 1982; Meltzoff & Moore, 1977). The human newborn’s
capacity to imitate extends to certain gestures, such as head movements, and has been
demonstrated in many ethnic groups and cultures (Meltzoff & Kuhl, 1994). As the figure
reveals, even the newborns of chimpanzees, our closest evolutionary ancestors, imitate
some facial expressions: tongue protrusion, mouth opening, and lip protrusion (Myowa-
Yamakoshi et al., 2004) (Berk).
Imitation is more difficult to induce in babies 2 to 3 months old than just after birth.
Therefore, some investigators regard the capacity as little more than an automatic
response that declines with age, much like a reflex. Others claim that newborns imitate a
variety of facial expressions and head movements with apparent effort and determination,
even after short delays—when the adult is no longer demonstrating the behavior.
Furthermore, these investigators argue, imitation does not decline, as reflexes do. Human
babies several months old often do not imitate an adult’s behavior right away because they
try to play social games they are used to in face-to-face interaction—mutual gazing, cooing,
smiling, and waving their arms. When an adult models a gesture repeatedly, older human
infants soon get down to business and imitate (Meltzoff & Moore, 1994). Similarly, imitation
declines in baby chimps around 9 weeks of age, when mother–baby mutual gazing and
other face-to-face exchanges increase. (Laura Berk)
2.4. The Social Context of Early Cognitive Development

Vygotsky, formulated a theory that children first develop lower mental functions such as
simple perceptions, associative learning, and involuntary attention; then, through social
interactions with more advanced peers and adults, they eventually develop high mental
functions such as language, counting, problem solving skills, voluntary attention, and memory
schemas.
Central to Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development is his theoretical construct of the
zone of proximal development. He proposed that a child's immediate potential for cognitive
growth is bounded on the lower end by what the child can accomplish on his/her own and on
the upper end by what the child can accomplish with the help of a more knowledgeable other,
such as a peer or teacher.
2.5. Language Development

On average, children say their first word at around 12 months of age, with a range of 8 to
18 months. Between 1.5 and 2 years, toddlers combine two words; soon their utterances
increase in length and complexity.

2.5.1. Theories of Language Development

2.5.1.1. The Behaviorist Perspective:
a) This perspective regards language development as entirely due to
environmental influences.
b) Through operant conditioning, parents reinforce their baby's sounds that
most sound like words.
c) Imitation combines with reinforcement to promote language development.
2.5.1.2. The Nativist Perspective:
a) This view assumes that children are born with a biologically-based system-
called the language acquisition device -for mastering language.
b) Chomsky maintained that the Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
contains a set of rules common to all languages; thus, children speak in a
rule-oriented way from the beginning.
c) Children all over the world tend to master language milestones in a similar
sequence- evidence that fits with Chomsky's ideas.
d) Can Great Apes Acquire Language? Findings reveal that the ability of
chimps to acquire a human like language system is limited. Even
pygmy chimps, a highly intelligent species, require several extra years of
training to attain the basic grammar understood by human 2 and 3-year-
olds.
e) Language Areas in the Brain: Humans have evolved specialized regions in
the brain that support language skills. Broca's area, located in
the frontal lobe, controls language production. Wernicke's area, located in
the temporal lobe, controls language comprehension.
f) Limitations of the Nativist Perspective: Researchers have had difficulty
identifying the single system of grammar believed to underlie all
languages. Research indicates that language acquisition is not immediate
but occurs in a steady and gradual manner.
2.5.1.3. The Interactionist Perspective:
a) This view emphasizes that language achievements emerge through the
interaction of innate abilities and environmental influences.
b) Native capacity, a strong desire to interact with others, and a rich linguistic
and social environment contribute to budding a child's
language capacities.
c) A great deal of evidence supports the interactionist position.
2.5.2. Getting Ready to Talk

2.5.2.1. Cooing and Babbling: Around 2 months, babies make vowel-like noises called
cooing. About 6 months, consonants combine with vowels and the baby begins
babbling. Babies must hear human speech for babbling to develop further. Adult-infant
interaction increases the amount of spoken language a baby is exposed to.
2.5.2.2. Becoming a Communicator: By 4 months, infants and adults follow each other's
gaze. The adults label what is seen. Experiencing this joint attention often speeds up
language development. Simple infant games such as pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo
demonstrate conversational turn-taking. At the end of the first year, infants use
preverbal gestures to influence the behavior of others.
2.5.3. First Words

 Children's first words usually refer to important people, objects that move, familiar
actions, or outcomes of familiar actions.
 Under extension is a vocabulary error in which a word is applied to a smaller number of
objects and events than is appropriate.
 In contrast, over extension occurs when a word is applied to a wider collection of
objects and events than is appropriate.

2.5.4. The Two-Word Utterance Phase

 Vocabularies slowly build from age 12 to 18 months. However, between 18 and 24
months, children may add from 10 to 20 new words a week.
 Telegraphic speech is the two-word utterance phase of toddlers which leaves out
smaller and less important words.
2.5.5. Comprehension versus Production
 Production is the words and word combinations that children use.
 Comprehension is the language that children understand.
 At all ages, comprehension develops ahead of production. Comprehension only
necessitates recognition of word meaning, whereas production requires active recall
of the word and its meaning.
2.6. A Summary of What Infants and Toddlers Can Do Cognitively






LEARNING ACTIVITY 2
LEARNING CONTENTS (Socio-Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers)
3. SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Emotional well-being during the early years has a powerful impact on social relationships.
Children who are emotionally healthy are better able to establish and maintain positive relationships
with adults as well as with peers. Socio-emotional development is essential to a young child’s sense
of well-being. Their first relationships help shape who they are, who they become, and their
understanding of the world. The important people in young children’s lives help lay the foundation
for a range of social-emotional skills such as self-regulation, empathy, turn-taking and sharing, and
positive relationships with adults and peers.
Simply put, socio-emotional development has something to do with the development of a
person’s ability to master one’s emotions and the ability to relate to others. It includes temperament,
attachments and social skills.
3.1. Activity: Read and Reflect! 
Read Nolte’s poem then answer the following questions:
1. Do you agree with Nolte’s poem?
2. Which line of the poem is not meaningful to you? Explain.
Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn…
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight…
If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive…
If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself…
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to feel guilt…

But…
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient…
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident…
If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative…
If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love…
If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is…
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice…
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him…
If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live.
With what is your child living?
Dorothy L. Nolte, Trained Family Counselor
Analysis:
3. Based on Nolte’s poem, which plays a very important role in the socio-emotional
development of children?
4. From what kind of home environment do children who are well adjusted most probably
come? What about maladjusted children?
5. Sate in a sentence what the poem is saying about a child’s socio-emotional
development.
Much has been said about the importance of the first three years in human development.
They are so-called the formative years that is why, parents and other caregivers at this stage
of human development play a significant role in the development of infants and toddlers.
As the poem “Children Learn What They Live” expresses, the kind of home and school
environment that parents and teachers produce determines to a very great extent the quality
of the development of children.
Let us discuss those elements that have something to do with the wholesome socio-
emotional development of children.
3.2. Emotional Development
3.2.1. Development of Some Basic Emotions

Basic emotions are those that can be directly inferred from facial expressions, such as
happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust.
3.2.1.1. Happiness
a) Happiness binds parent and baby and fosters the infant's developing competence.
b) The social smile-the smile evoked by the stimulus of the human face-first appears
between 6 and 10 weeks.
c) Laughter first appears around 2 to 4 months in response to active stimuli.
3.2.1.2. Anger and Fear
a) Anger is expressed during the first months when babies cry in response to
unpleasant experiences.
b) Both fear and anger rise during the second half of the first year.
c) Stranger anxiety is an expression of fear in response to unfamiliar adults. it
depends on the infant's temperament, past experiences with strangers, and the
situation in which baby and stranger meet.
d) Researchers believe that anger and fear have special survival value as infants'
motor capacities improve.
3.2.2. Understanding and Responding to the Emotions of Others
Between 7 and 10 months, infants perceive facial expressions as organized patterns,
and they can match the emotional tone of a voice with the appropriate face of a speaking
person. Social referencing occurs when an infant relies on a trusted person's emotional
reaction to decide how to respond in an uncertain situation. Social referencing provides
infants with a method of learning about the environment through indirect experience. By

toddlerhood, children use emotional signals to infer others' internal states and guide their
own actions.
3.2.3. It’s Emergence of Self-Conscious Emotions
Self-conscious emotions appear at the end of the second year. They involve injury to or
enhancement of the sense of self and include shame, embarrassment, guilt, envy, and
pride. Self-conscious emotions assist children in acquiring socially valued behaviors and
goals.
3.2.4. Like Beginnings of Emotional Self-Regulation
a) Emotional self-regulation refers to the strategies used to adjust emotional states to a
comfortable level of intensity.
b) By the end of the first year, babies' ability to move around permits them to regulate
feelings more effectively by approaching or retreating from various stimuli.
c) Mothers encourage baby's positive feelings far more often than their negative ones.
d) Infant boys get more training in hiding their unhappiness than do girls.
e) Growth in representation and language permits toddlers to describe their emotions
3.3. Temperament and Development
3.3.1. Temperament refers to stable individual differences in quality and intensity of emotional
reaction, activity level, attention, and emotional self-regulation
3.3.2. Thomas and Chess initiated the New York Longitudinal Study which was a comprehensive
examination of temperament. Results indicated:
 Temperament is predictive of psychological adjustment.
 Parenting practices can modify children's emotional styles.
3.3.3. The Structure of Temperament
 Three types of children described the majority of the Thomas and Chess sample: Easy
children quickly establish regular routines, are cheerful, and adapt easily to new
experiences. Difficult children are irregular in daily routines, slow to accept new
experiences, and tend to react negatively and intensely. Slow-to-warm-up children are
inactive, have mild, low- key reactions to stimuli, and adjust slowly to new experiences.
 35 percent of children did not fit any of these categories, demonstrating blends of
characteristics instead.
 The difficult temperamental type places children at risk for adjustment problems.
3.3.4. Measuring Temperament
3.3.4.1. Assessments of Behavior: Temperament is often assessed through parent
interviews and questionnaires, behavior ratings by medical professionals or caregivers,
and direct researcher observation. Parent ratings have been criticized for being biased
and subjective. Most measures can assess temperament across only a narrow age
range because the way temperament is expressed changes with development.
3.3.4.2. Assessments of Physiological Reactions: Inhibited, or shy, children react negatively
to and withdraw from novel stimuli. Uninhibited, or sociable, children display positive
emotion to and approach novel stimuli. Heart rate, hormone levels, and EEG waves in
the frontal cortex differentiate children with inhibited and uninhibited temperamental
styles.
3.3.5. Stability of Temperament
 Early in life children show marked individual differences in temperament, indicating the
important role that biological factors play in determining temperamental styles.
 However, the changes shown by children suggest that temperament can be modified by
experience.
3.3.6. Genetic Influences
 Findings of twin studies reveal that identical are more similar than fraternal across a
wide range of temperamental traits and personality measures.
 About half of the individual differences among us can be traced to differences in our
genetic make-up.

Chinese and Japanese infants tend to be less active, irritable, and vocal than
Caucasian infants.
 Boys tend to be more active and daring than girls.
3.3.7. Environmental Influences
 Some differences in early temperament are encouraged by cultural beliefs and
practices. For example, Japanese mothers do more comforting and American mothers
more stimulating.
 Parents more often encourage infant sons to be physically active and daughters to seek
help and physical closeness.
 Research indicates that when one child in a family is viewed as easy, another is likely to
be perceived as difficult, even though the second child might not be very difficult when
compared to children in general.
3.4. Development of Attachment
3.4.1. Early Theories of Attachment

 Psychoanalytic theory regards feeding as the central context in which caregivers and
babies build emotional bonds.
 According to the behaviorist drive reduction explanation, as the mother satisfies the
baby's hunger, her presence becomes a secondary or learned drive because it is
paired with tension relief.
 Research indicates the attachment bond is not solely dependent on satisfaction of the
infant's hunger.
 Human infants can also become attached to people who do not feed them as well as to
soft, cuddly objects.
3.4.2. Bowlby's Ethological Theory
 Today, ethological theory of attachment is the most widely accepted view of attachment.
 Bowlby's ethological theory views the infant's emotional tie to the mother as an evolved
response that promotes survival.
 The human infant is endowed with a set of built-in behaviors that keep the parent
nearby, which increases the chances that the infant will be protected from danger.
 The development of attachment takes place in four phases:
a) The pre-attachment phase – built-in signals such as smiling and crying help bring
the newborn into close contact with other humans.
b) The "attachment-in-the-making" phase – infants begin to respond differently to a
familiar caregiver than to a stranger.
c) The phase of "clear-cut" attachment – attachment to the familiar caregiver is
evident. Babies exhibit separation anxiety when they become upset at the departure
of a familiar caregiver. They use caregivers as a secure base from which they can
explore the environment and return to for emotional support.
d) Formation of a reciprocal relationship – separation anxiety decreases; instead,
toddlers try to persuade caregivers not to leave.
 An internal working model is a set of expectations derived from early care giving
experiences concerning the availability of attachment figures and their likelihood of
providing support during times of stress. This becomes a guide for all future close
relationships.
3.4.3. Measuring the Security of Attachment
 The Strange Situation is a procedure for measuring the quality of attachment between 1
and 2 years of age. It involves short separations from and reunions with the parent.
a) Secure attachment characterizes infants who may or may not cry at parental
separation but are easily comforted by the parent when she returns.
b) Avoidant attachment describes infants who are usually not distressed by parental
separation and who avoid the parent when she returns.

c) Resistant attachment identifies infants who remain close to the parent before
departure and display angry, resistive behavior when she returns.
d) Disorganized/disoriented attachment characterizes infants who respond in a
confused, contradictory way when reunited with parents. This pattern seems to
reflect the greatest insecurity.
 The Attachment Q-Sort is suitable for children between I and 5 years of age.
Descriptors regarding attachment-related behaviors are sorted into categories ranging
from highly descriptive to not at all descriptive of the child. Then, a computed score
permits assignment to secure or insecure groups.
3.4.4. Stability of Attachment and Cultural Variations

 When families experience major life changes, the quality of attachment often changes.
 German parents encourage their infants to be independent, which may explain why
more German infants show avoidant attachment than American babies.
 Japanese infants display more resistant attachment responses. Japanese mothers
rarely leave their babies in the care of strange people, which might cause the Strange
Situation to be more stressful for these infants.
 The secure attachment pattern is the most common in all societies studied.
3.4.5. Factors that Affect Attachment Security
3.4.5.1. Psychosocial Maternal Deprivation: In a series of studies, Spitz observed that
institutionalized infants experienced emotional difficulties, wept and withdrew from their
surroundings, lost weight, and had difficulty sleeping. Institutionalized babies had
emotional difficulties not because they were separated from their mothers, but
because they were prevented from forming a bond with one or a few adults. It is
possible that fully normal attachment development depends on establishing close
bonds with caregivers during the first few years of life.
3.4.5.2. Quality of Caregiving: Research findings indicate that securely attached infants have
mothers who engage in sensitive caregiving - responding promptly to infant
signals, expressing positive emotion, and handling their babies tenderly and carefully.
Insecurely attached infants have mothers who dislike physical contact, handle
them awkwardly, and behave in a "routine" manner when meeting the baby's needs.
Interactional synchrony is best described as a sensitively tuned "emotional
dance," in which the caregiver responds to infant signals in a well-timed, appropriate
fashion and both partners match emotional states, especially the positive ones.
Although secure attachment depends on attentive caregiving, its association with
immediate contingent interaction is probably limited to certain cultures. Avoidant
infants tend to receive caregiving that is overstimulating and intrusive. Child abuse and
neglect are associated with all three forms of insecure attachment.
3.4.5.3. Infant Characteristics: Prematurity, birth complications, and newborn illness are
linked to attachment insecurity in poverty-stricken, stressed families. The precise role
that temperament plays in attachment security has been debated. Some evidence
indicates that sensitive caregiving can override the impact of infant characteristics on
attachment security.
3.4.5.4. Family Circumstances: In families where there is stress and instability, insecure
attachment is especially high. Availability of social supports reduces stress and
fosters attachment security.
3.4.5.5. Attachment in Context:
a) Many factors influence the development of attachment-infant and parent
characteristics, quality of the marital relationship, family stressors, social support
and child care arrangements.
b) Attachment can only be fully understood within some ecological systems
perspective.
3.4.6. Multiple Attachments

Bowlby believed that infants are predisposed to direct their attachment behaviors to a
single attachment figure. This preference typically declines over the second year of life.
 Fathers: Fathers' sensitive caregiving predicts secure attachment - an effect that
becomes stronger the more time they spend with their babies. Mothers spend
more time in physical care, while fathers spend more time in playful interaction. As a
result, babies tend to look to their mothers when distressed and to their fathers for
playful stimulation. Highly involved fathers are less gender stereotyped in their beliefs,
have sympathetic, friendly personalities, and regard parenthood as an especially
enriching experience. A warm, gratifying marital relationship supports both parents'
involvement with babies, but it is particularly important for fathers.
 Siblings: Eighty percent of American children grow up with at least one sibling. Conflict
between siblings increases when one member of a sibling pair is emotionally intense or
highly active. Secure infant-mother attachment and warmth toward both children are
related to positive sibling interaction, whereas coldness is associated with sibling
friction. Setting aside special times to devote to the older child supports sibling
harmony.
3.4.7. From Attachment to Peer Sociability
 Between 1 and 2 years, coordinated peer interaction occurs more often, typically in the
form of mutual physical play and imitation.
 Some limited peer sociability is present in the first 2 years, and it is fostered by the early
caregiver child bond.
3.4.8. Attachment and Later Development
 Quality of attachment to the mother in infancy is related to cognitive and social
development in early childhood.
 Continuity of caregiving may determine whether attachment insecurity is linked to later
problems.
 A child whose parental caregiving improves or who has compensatory affectional ties
outside the immediate family can bounce back from adversity.
3.5. Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

The first two stages (of the 8 stage of a person’s psychosocial development) apply at the
period of infancy and toddlerhood.
3.5.1. Hope: Trust vs. Mistrust (Infants, 0 to 1 year)
The first stage of Erik Erikson’s centers around the infant’s basic needs being met by the
parents. The infant depends on the parents, especially the mother, for food, sustenance
and comfort.
3.5.2. Will: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Toddlers, 2 to 3 years)
As the child gains control over eliminative functions and motor abilities, they begin to
explore their surroundings. The parents still provide a strong base of security from which
the child can venture out to assert their will.
3.6. A Summary of What Infants and Toddlers Can Do Cognitively





LEARNING ACTIVITY 3
SUMMARY
Children grow rapidly during infancy and toddlerhood. They accomplish many milestones,
including establishing a sense of trust in the world during infancy and finding their independence in
toddlerhood. Adults have the important task of providing children varied opportunities to promote
their development during infancy and toddlerhood. Using the suggestions that have been offered
will help adults to foster a positive, creative environment wherein children can thrive.
REFERENCES
Corpuz, Brenda B., et.al. The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles. Lorimar Publishing
Inc. 2018
Santrock, John W. A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.
2005
https://www.britannica.com/science/infant-and-toddler-development
https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/gh6121
https://sites.google.com/site/stagesofhumandevelopment/home/infancy-and-toddlerhood
https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/parachute-reflex#reflex-test
https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/bones.html#:~:text=A%20baby's%20body%20has%20about,are%20partly
%20made%20of%20cartilage.
https://www.virtuallabschool.org/infant-toddler/cognitive/lesson-2
https://www.virtuallabschool.org/infant-toddler/social-emotional/lesson-2

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FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. ___ 5

INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

LEARNING CONTENTS (Physical Development of Infants and Toddlers)

1. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

1.1. Activity: Read and reflect! 

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

1.2. Body Growth

1.2.1. Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal Patterns

1.3. Skeletal Growth

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2

1.4. Brain Development

1.5. Motor Development

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 3

1.5.2. Gross Motor Skills

1.5.3. Fine Motor Skills

1.6. Factors Affecting Early Physical Growth

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 4

Weight is also affected by genetic make-up. However, the environment- especially

1.7. Newborns’ Perceptions

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 5

stimulus must be louder to be heard by a newborn than by an adult.

1.7.4. Can newborns feel pain? Do they respond to touch?

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 6

1.8. A Summary of What Infants and Toddlers Can Do Physically

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 7

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 8

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 9

LEARNING CONTENTS (Cognitive Development of Infants and Toddlers)

2. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

2.1. Activity: Read, analyze & recall! 

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 10

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 11

circular Primary reaction because the action is focused on the

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 12

2.2. Sensorimotor stage

2.3. Learning Capacities

For example, Little Albert was conditioned to be afraid of

2.3.2. Operant Conditioning

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 13

response is called punishment. Operant conditioning allows researchers to determine what

2.4. The Social Context of Early Cognitive Development

2.5. Language Development

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 14

2.5.1. Theories of Language Development

2.5.2. Getting Ready to Talk

2.5.3. First Words

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 15

2.5.4. The Two-Word Utterance Phase

2.6. A Summary of What Infants and Toddlers Can Do Cognitively

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 16

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 17

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 18

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 19

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 20

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 21

LEARNING CONTENTS (Socio-Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers)

3. SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Children Learn What They Live

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 22

3.2. Emotional Development

3.2.1. Development of Some Basic Emotions