Urie Bronfenbrenner & Social Ecology Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner Social Ecology Theory

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s , Bronfenbrenner made several contributions to understanding the importance of the context of human development . In his 1979 book , The Ecology of Human Development Bronfenbrenner explained the importance for human ontogeny of the interrelated ecological levels , conceived of as nested systems , involved in human development . Each of the ecological systems he described was explained to have an important impact on the child , the parent , the family , and in fact on the quality of life in society . Together , the four components of Bronfenbrenner

's formulation of social ecology theory constitute a model for conceptualizing the integrated developmental system and for designing research to study the course of human development

Ecological approaches draw heavily from the theoretical work of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1977 , 1979 , 1986 . Bronfenbrenner 's theory organizes social ecological influence on individuals at four different levels Each level contains and influences the prior level and directly or indirectly influences individuals . The four levels of systems are known as microsystems , mesosystems , exosystems , and macrosystems Bronfenbrenner 's ecological theory provides an ideal tool to describe and examine the effects of various levels of social , cultural political , and historical context on human development . Bronfenbrenner also denotes proximal processes as mechanisms by which genotypes are transformed into phenotypes this occurs through patterns of interactions within microsystems that involve both the genetic makeup of individuals and the various layers of contextual influences

Microsystems refer to systems that include the target individual directly . For children and adolescents , this might include the family peers , the school , and the neighborhood . For an adult , microsystems might consist of the couple , the immediate family (of origin and of procreation , work , the neighborhood , and the health-care system (e .g in the case of chronic disease

At first , for most children , the microsystem is quite small . It is the home , involving interaction with only one or perhaps two people at a time ( dyadic or triadic interaction ) doing relatively simple activities such as feeding , bathing , and cuddling . As the child develops , complexity normally increases : the child does more , with more people , in more places . Indeed , in Bronfenbrenner 's view , the expanding capacity to do more is the very essence of development . Love is at the heart of it . Play figures prominently in this process from the early months of life , and eventually is joined by productive labor (work Playing , working , and loving (what Freud called the essence of normal human existence ) are the principal classes of activities that characterize the child 's microsystem . However , how much one does of those activities and how complex they are differs from person to person .One of the most important aspects of the microsystem as a force in development is the existence of relationships that go beyond simple dyads (two people . For a child , to be able to observe and learn from being exposed to other dyads (such as his mother and father ) enhances development . Development is enhanced when the child is able to observe differences in his or...