Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory

When it comes to human development, there are multiple different factors that come into play such as genetics, environment, and values. Sociologists are able to form theories about human development based on their studies of one or numerous factors. One of these theories derives from Urie Bronfenbenner, a sociologist from the 1980’s; it is called the ecological theory. The ecological theory was Bronfenbrenner’s idea stating that human development is shaped by five interrelated systems in the social environment (Arnett, 2016). Although all five systems are relevant to his theory, the two most direct systems affecting human development are the microsystem and the macrosystem. The microsystem, also referred to as context by psychologists today, …show more content…
This system is “the broad system of cultural beliefs and values, and the economic and governmental systems that are built on those beliefs and values” (Arnett, 2016 p. 26). An example of my macrosystem would be my socioeconomic status. Both of my parents grew up in large families, and my grandparents could not afford to support all of their children fully. Therefore, my parents needed to apply for jobs and get hired as soon as they were of age to financially help out their parents. Even though my parents were able to support their three children, they raised us to be self sustained individuals because it is how they were raised. As soon as I turned sixteen I was expected to have a job and be able to pay for my car insurance and gas. Now as a freshman in college I feel comfortable with living away from my parents more than other students because I have had the experience of relying on myself, and not my parents, in everything I …show more content…
Without living in an independence-based system, I, as a woman, would not be able to have a say in some of every day life decisions. Take college, for instance; in the United States women are fortunate enough to have the option to get a higher education beyond high school. In some undeveloped countries and countries with different governmental set ups, it is common for women to not know more than the basic reading and writing skills. Certain governments even disallow females to go to school, or even out in public. Also, just by being an American citizen I have the right to vote, a privilege not all countries across the globe have. Just as my parents raised me to be independent, the government I live in gave me the right to be independent and make the decisions that have gotten me where I am today. When a person thinks about a human development it is natural to automatically think about their parents and home situation, but from Bronfenbrenners’s ecological theory I have learned that a persons surrounding’s, no matter how big or small, affects a person’s behavior and personality. There have been many different factors in my life affecting my development. It is hard to believe that something so ordinary such as what state I live in has directly affected the way I have developed, but it is easy to see that it has affected me just as much as my parents and close friends