Human Development — Psychology STD 11 Humanities — Question

Urie Bronfenbrenner's contextual view of development emphasizes the role of environmental factors in the development of an individual.

1. Micro system: The micro system is the immediate environment in which the individual lives. It is in these settings where the child directly interacts with social agents-the family, peers, teachers and neighbourhood.
2. Meso system: The meso system consists of relations between these contexts. i.e. How a child's parents relate to the teachers or how the parents view the adolescent's friends. These are experiences which are likely to influence an individual's relationship with others.
3. Exo system: The exo system includes events in social settings where the child does not participate directly, but they influence the child's experiences in the immediate context. e.g. the transfer of father or mother may cause tension among the parents which might affect their interactions with the child or the general amenities available to the child like quality of schooling, libraries, medical care, means of entertainment, etc.
4. Macro system: Macro system includes the culture in which the individual lives.
5. Chronosystem: Chronosystem involves events in the individual's life course, and socio-historical circumstances of the time such as, divorce of parents or parents economic setback and their effect on the child.

Bronfenbrenner's view is that a child's development is significantly affected by the complex world that envelops him/ her whether it be the conversations on very small matters with his playmates, or the social and economic life circumstances into which he/ she is born.