Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory of

Development: Definition & Examples

Instructor: Lisa Roundy

Lisa has taught at all levels from kindergarten to college and has a master's degree in human relations.
Learn about Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory in this lesson and explore the five levels of the environment
that can influence human development.

What Is Ecological Systems Theory?

How is a child's development affected by their social relationships and the world around them? Ecological systems
theory provides one approach to answering this question. The ecological systems theory was developed by Urie
Bronfenbrenner.
Bronfenbrenner believed that a person's development was affected by everything in their surrounding environment.
He divided the person's environment into five different levels: the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the
macrosystem, and the chronosystem. In this lesson, you will learn about these different environmental levels by
meeting five-year-old Alex and examining the influences in his life.

Microsystem
We will begin with the first level of Bronfenbrenner's theory: the microsystem. The microsystem is the system
closest to the person and the one in which they have direct contact. Some examples would be home, school,
daycare, or work. A microsystem typically includes family, peers, or caregivers. Relationships in a microsystem are
bi-directional. In other words, your reactions to the people in your microsystem will affect how they treat you in
return. This is the most influential level of the ecological systems theory.
Let's look at the microsystem Alex lives in. The first part of his microsystem is his home environment. This includes
his interactions with his parents and little sister. Alex's school is also part of his microsystem. His regular school
interactions are with his kindergarten teacher and the other children in his class.

Mesosystem
The next level of ecological systems theory is the mesosystem. The mesosystem consists of the interactions
between the different parts of a person's microsystem. The mesosystem is where a person's individual
microsystems do not function independently, but are interconnected and assert influence upon one another. These
interactions have an indirect impact on the individual.
One aspect of Alex's mesosystem would be the relationship between his parents and his teacher. His parents take
an active role in his school, such as attending parent/teacher conferences and volunteering in his classroom. This

has a positive impact on his development because the different elements of his microsystem are working together.
Alex's development could be affected in a negative way if the different elements of his microsystem were working
against one another.

Exosystem
The exosystem is the next level we will examine. The exosystem refers to a setting that does not involve the person
as an active participant, but still affects them. This includes decisions that have bearing on the person, but in which
they have no participation in the decision-making process. An example would be a child being affected by a parent
receiving a promotion at work or losing their job.
One part of Alex's exosystem would be his father's workplace. Alex's father is in the Navy. This often takes him away
from the family, and Alex sometimes does not see his father for months at a time. This situation impacts Alex, and
he becomes anxious when his father leaves. Alex's anxiety has an effect on his development in other areas, even
though he has no interaction with his father's work or say in the decision making process.

Macrosystem
The fourth level of ecological systems theory is the macrosystem. The macrosystem encompasses the cultural
environment in which the person lives and all other systems that affect them. Examples could include the economy,
cultural values, and political systems. The macrosystem can have either a positive or a negative effect on a person's
development. For an example, consider the different effects on the development of a child growing up in a thirdworld economy versus that of the United States.
An important aspect of Alex's macrosystem is the fact that he is a military child. Because of this, he has already
moved three times and lived in two different countries by the age of five. Alex is also influenced by the values of the
military community that he belongs to.
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What is Bronfenbrenners Ecological

Systems Theory?
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American psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner, formulated the Ecological

Systems Theory to explain how the inherent qualities of a child and the
characteristics of the external environment which the child finds himself in
interact to influence how the child will grow and develop. Through his theory,
Bronfenbrenner stressed the importance of studying a child in the context of
his multiple environments, also known as ecological systems in the attempt to
understand his individual development.
A child finds himself simultaneously enmeshed in different ecosystems, from
the most intimate home ecological system moving outward to the larger school
system and the most expansive system which is society and culture. Each of
these systems inevitably interact with and influence each other and every
aspect of the childs life.
The Ecological Systems Approach organizes contexts of development into five
levels of external influence which interlock. The levels are categorized from the

most intimate level to the broadest, with the most intimate being the
microsystem. The microsystem is the smallest and most immediate
environment in which the child lives. As such, the microsystem comprises the
daily home, school or daycare, peer group or community environment of the
child. Interactions within the microsystem typically involve personal
relationships with family members, classmates, teachers and caregivers, in
which influences go back and forth. How these groups or individuals interact
with the child will affect how the child grows. Similarly, how the child reacts to
people in his microsystem will also influence how they treat the child in return.
More nurturing and more supportive interactions and relationships will
understandably foster the childs improved development.
Given two siblings experiencing the same microsystem, however, it is not
impossible for the development of the two siblings to progress in different
manners. Each childs particular personality traits, such as temperament,
which is influenced by unique genetic and biological factors, ultimately have a
hand in how he is treated by others. One of the most significant findings that
Bronfenbrenner unearthed in his study of ecological systems is that it is
possible for siblings who find themselves within the same ecological system to
still experience very different environments.
The mesosystem encompasses the interaction of the
different microsystems which the developing child finds himself in. It is, in
essence, a system of microsystems and as such, involves linkages between
home and school, between peer group and family, or between family and
church. If a childs parents are actively involved in the friendships of their child,
invite friends over to their house and spend time with them, then the childs
development is affected positively through harmony and like-mindedness.
However, if the childs parents dislike their childs peers and openly criticize
them, then the child experiences disequilibrium and conflicting emotions,
probably affecting his development negatively.
The exosystem, on the other hand, pertains to the linkages that may exist
between two or more settings, one of which may not contain the developing
child but affects him indirectly nonetheless. Other people and places which the
child may not directly interact with but may still have an effect on the child,
comprise the exosystem. Such places and people may include the parents
workplaces, the larger neighborhood, and extended family members. For

example, a father who is continually passed up for promotion by an indifferent

boss at the workplace may take it out on his children and mistreat them at
home.

The macrosystem is the largest and most distant collection of people and
places to the child that still exercises significant influence on the child. It is
composed of the childs cultural patterns and values, specifically the childs
dominant beliefs and ideas, as well as political and economic systems. Children
in war-torn areas, for example, will experience a different kind of development
than children in communities where peace reigns.
The chronosystem adds the useful dimension of time, which demonstrates
the influence of both change and constancy in the childs environment. The
chronosystem may thus include a change in family structure, address, parents
employment status, in addition to immense society changes such as economic
cycles and wars.
By studying the different systems that simultaneously influence a child, the
ecological systems theory is able to demonstrate the diversity of interrelated
influences on the childs development. Awareness of contexts can sensitize us
to variations in the way a child may act in different settings. For example, a
child who frequently bullies smaller children at school may portray the role of a
terrified victim at home. Due to these variations, adults concerned with the
care of a particular child should pay close attention to behavior in different
settings or contexts and to the quality and type of connections that exist
between these contexts.