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Ecological systems theory

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Ecological Systems Theory, also called "Development in Context" or "Human Ecology" theory, specifies four types of nested environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the systems. The theory was developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner, generally regarded as one of the world's leading scholars in the field of developmental psychology.

The four systems:

  1. Microsystem: Immediate environments (family, school, peer group, neighborhood, and childcare environments)
  2. Mesosystem: A system comprised of connections between immediate environments (i.e., a child’s home and school)
  3. Exosystem: External environmental settings which only indirectly affect development (such as parent's workplace)
  4. Macrosystem: The larger cultural context (Eastern vs. Western culture, national economy, political culture, subculture)
  5. Chronosystem: The patterning of environmental events and transitions over the course of life.

The person's own biology may be considered part of the microsystem; thus the theory has recently sometimes been called "Bio-Ecological Systems Theory."

Each system contains roles, norms, and rules that can powerfully shape development. For example, an inner-city black family faces many challenges which an affluent white family in a gated community does not, and vice versa. The inner-city black family is more likely to experience environmental hardships, such as teratogens and crime. The sheltered white family on the other hand is more likely to lack the nurturing support of extended family.

The major statement of this theory, The Ecology of Human Development (1979)[1] had widespread influence on the way psychologists and others approached the study of human beings and their environments. It has been said that before Bronfenbrenner, child psychologists studied the child, sociologists examined the family, anthropologists the society, economists the economic framework of the times and political scientists the structure. As a result of Bronfenbrenner's groundbreaking work in "human ecology," a field that he created, these environments - from the family to economic and political structures - were viewed as part of the life course from childhood to adulthood.

Bronfenbrenner has identified Soviet developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky and German-born psychologist Kurt Lewin as an important influences on his theory.[2]

References

  1. ^ *Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (ISBN 0-674-22457-4)
  2. ^ *Personal conversation, Cornell University, 1986.

German-born psychologist Kurt Lewin as important influences

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