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.
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Overview
The theory was developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner Urie Bronfenbrenner was an Russian American psychologist, known for developing his Ecological Systems Theory, and as a co-founder of the Head Start program in the United States for disadvantaged pre-school children, generally regarded as one of the world's leading scholars in the field of developmental psychology Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire life span. This field examines.
The four systems:
- Microsystem: Immediate environments (family In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children, school A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the supervision of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country (discussed in the Regional section below), but generally, peer group A peer group is a social group consisting of people who are equal in such respects as age, education or social class. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer, neighborhood A neighborhood or neighbourhood is a geographically localized community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighborhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members, and childcare Childcare, child care, or babycare is the act of caring for and supervising children usually from 0–8 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child environments)
- Mesosystem: A system comprising connections between immediate environments (i.e., a child’s home and school)
- Exosystem: External environmental settings which only indirectly affect development (such as parent's workplace)
- Macrosystem: The larger cultural Culture is a term that has various meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses: context (Eastern The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures or social structures and philosophical systems of "the East" or geographically the Eastern Culture. These are namely Asia: the Indian subcontinent, the Far East, the Middle East/Near East, and Central Asia sometimes including many Orthodox Christian regions like Russia, vs. Western culture Western culture refers to cultures of European origin, national economy, political culture, subculture In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong, for example, if a particular subculture is characterized by a systematic opposition to the dominant culture, it may be described as a counterculture)
Later, a fifth system was added:
- 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."
Per this theoretical construction, each system contains roles, norms and rules which may shape psychological development. For example, an inner-city family faces many challenges which an affluent family in a gated community In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential streets and include various shared amenities. For does not, and vice versa. The inner-city family is more likely to experience environmental hardships, such as teratogens Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development. It is often thought of as the study of birth defects, but it is much broader than that, taking in other developmental stages, such as puberty; and other life forms, such as plants and crime. On the other hand the sheltered family is more likely to lack the nurturing support of extended family.[1]
Since its publication in 1979, Bronfenbrenner's major statement of this theory, The Ecology of Human Development [2] has had widespread influence on the way psychologists and others approach the study of human beings and their environments. As a result of his groundbreaking work in "human ecology", these environments — from the family to economic and political structures — have come to be viewed as part of the life course from childhood through adulthood.
Bronfenbrenner has identified Soviet developmental psychologist Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire life span. This field examines Lev Vygotsky Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist and the founder of cultural-historical psychology and German-born psychologist Kurt Lewin Kurt Zadek Lewin was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology as important influences on his theory.
Bronfenbrenner's work provides one of the foundational elements of the Ecological counseling Ecological Counseling offers an approach to the conceptualization of human issues that integrates personal and environmental factors through focusing on their interaction. By doing so, the widely divergent forces that converge through the development of a human life may be organized into a logical and coherent narrative. This process is invaluable Perspective, as espoused by Bob Conyne, Ellen Cook, and the University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, part of the University System of Ohio. The 2007 rankings from The Center at Arizona State University place the University of Cincinnati as a "Public University Ranking in the Top 25 among Publics", tied for the 37th best public research Counseling Program.
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory
"Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory holds that development reflects the influence of several environmental systems. The theory identifies five environmental systems." The five environmental systems are:
- "Microsystem: The setting in which the individual lives. These contexts include the person's family, peers, school, and neighborhood. It is in the microsystem that the most direct interactions with social agents take place; with parents, peers, and teachers, for example. The individual is not a passive recipient of experiences in these settings, but someone who helps to construct the settings.
- Mesosystem: Refers to relations between microsystems or connections between contexts. Examples are the relation of family experiences to school experiences, school experiences to church experiences, and family experiences to peer experiences. For example, children whose parents have rejected them may have difficulty developing positive relations with teachers.
- Exosystem: Involves links between a social setting in which the individual does not have an active role and the individual's immediate context. For example, a husband's or child's experience at home may be influenced by a mother's experiences at work. The mother might receive a promotion that requires more travel, which might increase conflict with the husband and change patterns of interaction with the child.
- Macrosystem: Describes the culture in which individuals live. Cultural contexts include developing and industrialized countries, socioeconomic status, poverty, and ethnicity.
- Chronosystem: The patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course, as well as sociohistorical circumstances. For example, divorces is one transition. Researchers have found that the negative effects of divorce on children often peak in the first year after the divorce. By two years after the divorce, family interaction is less chaotic and more stable. As an example of sociohistorical circumstances, consider how the opportunities for women to pursue a career have increased during the last thirty years[3]."
There are many different theories related to human development. The ecological theory emphasizes environmental factors as playing the major role to development. This theory does in fact vary from culture to culture[3].
See also
- Ecosystem An ecosystem consists of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and sunlight. It is all the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving factors with which they interact; a biological community and its
- Ecosystem ecology Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as chemicals, bedrock, soil, plants, and animals.
- Systems ecology Systems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, taking a holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems. Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general systems theory to ecology. Central to the systems ecology approach is the idea that an ecosystem is a complex system exhibiting emergent properties
- Systems psychology Systems psychology is a branch of applied psychology that studies human behaviour and experience in complex systems. It is inspired by systems theory and systems thinking, and based on the theoretical work of Roger Barker, Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana and others. It is an approach in psychology, in which groups and individuals, are
- Child development Child development refers to the biological and psychological changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal
References
- ^ Vander Zanden, J. W., Crandell, T. L., Crandell, C. H. (2007).Human Development. 8th edition (ed.), New York: McGraw Hill.
- ^ Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (ISBN 0-674-22457-4)
- ^ a b Santrock, John W. (2007). A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Further reading
- Urie Bronfenbrenner. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Harvard University Press is a publishing house, a division of Harvard University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. It was established on January 13, 1913. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses (AAUP). The current director is William P. Sisler and the editor-in-chief. ISBN 0-674-22457-4
- Dede Paquette & John Ryan. (2001). Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
- Arch G. Woodside, Marylouise Caldwell, Ray Spurr. (2006). Advancing Ecological Systems Theory in Lifestyle, Leisure, and Travel Research, in: Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 44, No. 3, 259-272.
Categories: Developmental psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of progressive psychological changes that occur in human beings as they age. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence and more recently, adult development, and aging | Psychological schools The main articles are Psychology, History of psychology and List of psychological schools | Systems psychology Categories: Applied psychology | Branches of psychology | Systems science | Systems theory Categories: Philosophy of science | Interdisciplinary fields | Systems science | Systems | Abstraction
Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:26:17 GMT+00:00
Medscape Mischel W, Shoda Y. A cognitive-affective system theory of personality. Psychol Rev 1995; 102: 246 68. Prince M, Patel V, Saxena S et al. ...
