I believe that my development as a child should be viewed from a global perspective. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory applies to me because dynamic interactions between various social, cultural, and economic backgrounds shaped my development (Kinnucan, 2013). I was influenced culturally by my Indian heritage. I was impacted socially by stuttering and growing up bilingual in Gujarati and English. I was influenced economically by growing up in a middle-class family in a suburban environment. From these various perspectives, I will analyze my developmental from infancy (birth- 1 year), toddlerhood (1-3 years), preschool age (3-6 years), and school age (6-12 years). I interviewed my father in order to gain information about my behavior and development from infancy to school age. On July 14, 1993, a healthy baby boy was delivered by C-section and weighed 8 lb. 6 oz. According to my father, as a newborn I had all the reflex behaviors such as sucking, crying, rooting, and grasping (Kail, 2012, p.97). I contracted hypoglycemia from my mother who had developed diabetes during pregnancy. I was placed in the ICU for two days for treatment (H. Patel, personal communication, November 1, 2013). Afterwards, I could be breastfed, held by my mother, and stay in the same room as my mother. These factors lead to the development of a secure attachment to my mother. In addition, I did not have elaborate bed time rituals because I co-slept with my parents or grandparents as an infant, toddler, and preschooler (H. Patel, personal communication, November 1, 2013, Kail, 2012, p.100). In my childhood, my parents and maternal grandparents cared for me and I interacted extensively with my older sister. Compared to when my sister was an infant, I... ... middle of paper ... ... stuttering affected my English more than my Guajarati. Therefore, the social interactions with my family members remained constant. Fortunately, long-term speech therapy dramatically reduced my stuttering by the time I started high school. When I was school aged I started referring to my “blue blanket” as an object rather than a living object, corresponding to the concrete operational stage of development (Kail, 2012, p.177). My memory strategies developed throughout elementary school. In 1st and 2nd grade, I studied for spelling tests by rehearsal, writing each word 10 times. Later in 4th and 5th grade I started using more elaborate methods, such as mnemonics, in order to learn words (Kail, 2012, p. 211). In 4th grade I began to play the Tabla, Indian drums, which improved my fine motor skills because of the precise hand movements needed to make various sounds.
The environmental influences must be considered in order to understand the behavioral of a child. Urie Bronfenbrenner was a famous Russian American psychologist who formulated the Ecological Model Systems in 1979. He believed that as a child grow and mature, the way he/she interact with the environment become more complex. The Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model Systems defines how external environments and individuals affect the development of a child. It is made up of four systems that greatly influence the development of a child. The four systems are microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. My parents divorced when I was 3 years old and I grew up in a broken family. My microsystem includes immediate relationship I interact with,
The concept of infant-mother attachment is as important to the child as the birth itself. The effect this relationship has on a child shall affect that child for its entire life. A secure attachment to the mother or a primary caregiver is imperative for a child’s development. Ainsworth’s study shows that a mother is responsive to her infant’s behavioral cues which will develop into a strong infant-mother attachment. This will result in a child who can easily, without stress, be separated from his mother and without any anxiety. Of course the study shows a child with a weak infant-mother relationship will lead to mistrust, anxiety, and will never really be that close with the mother. Without the right help, this child may harbor these ill feelings for life.
Understanding Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model will guide you through child development. Knowledge of the systems will create a lasting impact for parenting. The microsystem will provide information on family, school, peers, community and the media. The mesosystem provides information that are linked to the microsystem. The exosystem does not directly relate to the child. The macrosystem provides information on cultures, moral, customs, and the social beliefs. All four of these systems with understanding will guide you through an positive relationship for you and your
In the ecological systems theory, Brofenbrenner postulated that in order to completely understand development, the entire ecological system must be taken into account. Each level of the system offers a diverse range of options and sources for growth. The microsystem level - which is what we will be focusing on – contains structures with which the child has direct contact. It embodies the relationships and interactions the child has with their immediate surrounding such as family, school, neighbors, and childcare environments. Relationships that are bi-directional tend to have the strongest influence, meaning the interactions have impact in two directions, both toward the individual and away. The microsystem provides the initial set of interrelations a child has and provides the basis for developing trust with their significant people. For this reason, adopting at the earliest age po...
Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) was born in Russia in 1917 and moved to America at a very young age. He became a psychologist in 1938 and received a doctorate in Developmental Psychology in 1942. In 1948 he accepted a position in Human development, Family studies and Psychology at Cornell University where he remained for the rest of his professional career. Bronfenbrenner spent most of his professional life in a department that contains three different fields. He was not satisfied with what he believed was a fragmented approach to the study of human development, each one with its separate level of analysis (child, society, family, culture, economics and so forth) (Danner, 2009) In response, he developed an ecological system model, listed in his 1979 book The Ecology of Human Development, in which Bronfenbrenner (1979, p.3) states ‘The ecological environment is con...
... method to investigate an infant’s attachment to its mother (Hutchinson, 2013). She believed that the infant’s level of attachment could be measured and assessed through the infant’s response to a series of “strange” episodes (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2012). Sixty percent of children develop a secure attachment, which is demonstrated through their ability to explore their environment in a positive manner and to utilize skills acquired during attachment development to have positive interactions with their peers, develop close friendships as they age and navigate life in a mentally healthy manner. Even though Richard cannot remember his early child hood, he has demonstrated that he and his mother were successful in formulating a secure attachment, as evidences by his ability to maneuver healthy manner with relationships and professional successes throughout his life
Siegler, Robret, Judy DeLoache, and Nancy Eisenberg. How Children Develop. 3rd ed. New York: Worth Publishers, 2011. 425-98. Print.
A human being begins life as a single cell. This cell changes throughout its life time to develop into a unique individual. Human development is the scientific study of the patterns associated with this change in accordance with the internal and external conditions of its existence (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2009). In exploring human development, there are three key areas that need to be addressed. These comprise of physical development, cognitive development and finally psychosocial development. Within each of these areas, it is apparent that most address three key issues. Firstly, is the development process continuous or a series of discontinuous stages? Secondly is there one path of development characteristics or does the individual take an active or passive role resulting in several possible paths and directions? Thirdly how do the genetic or environmental factors influence development? “Theorists such as Erikson and Piaget assume that developmental change occurs in distinct, discontinuous stages and all individuals follow the same sequence and order”(Hoffnung, Seifert, Smith, Hine, Ward & Quinn, 2010, p.34). While Brofenbrenner’s, ecological systems theory emphasises the broad range of situations and contexts in which development occurs making it a continuous process guided by the individual (Hoffnung,et al., 2010, p.35).
In conclusion it can be seen from looking at physical development and language development that genes and the environment operate together to influence development. In relation to child development the gene-environment perspective is not the only one to be considered. Gene only perspectives, Environment only perspectives and the Transactional model which sees the child as actively shaping its own development all play important roles and help us to understand the process of child development.
In the model I developed for child development there are three main groups: physical, mental, and social. Within these three groups are subcategories, many including ideas from various theorists, that I will use to support my system of child development. Throughout this paper, I will use ideas, definitions, and examples from the theorists I have chosen and from my own experience.
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory will be applied throughout this essay to delve into the reasoning behind particular behavioural issues. According to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, an individual has multiple environments known as their ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Bronfenbrenner (1994) suggests that a developing child is influenced by the relationships surrounding them and the best way to understand a child’s behaviour is to look at the numerous aspects of the child’s environment and how they interact with each other. The relationships and environments that the child interacts with have been separated into layers known as the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and the overarching chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The microsystem is the environment where the child has direct face-to-face relationships such as at home, day care and school (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The relationships formed within the microsystem directly impact the development of a child (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). It is through the processes of repeated interactions with people, objects and symbols that the human develops (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The second layer in the ecological model is the mesosystem, which is the interaction between two of the microsystems such as the relationship between a parent and a teacher (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The exosystem is an external environment, with which the
Human development issues have remained critical in understanding how and why people behave the way they do. Several human development theories exist to explain human development from birth through to death. Some of these have focused on the psychological aspects of human development while others on the cognitive aspect (Piaget, 1971; Lerner, 2001; Swick and Williams, 2006). Other human development theories have also focused on the social and environmental aspects (Bronfenbrenner & Bronfenbrenner, 2009; Swick, 2004). This current essay examines one of the major social theories relating to child development. The theory to be examined is the Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development. The essay will further examine the applicability of the Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory to my personal development, growing up as a child between the ages of 4 years and 12 years. In the first instance, the essay will focus on explaining the – Bronfenbrenner’s theory including the four types of systems described by the theory. Subsequently, the essay will examine how these systems apply to my life in relation to the social systems in which I grew in South Sudan in Africa. It will be seen that the Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory
Bronfenbrenner theorised that there are many different influences that affect a child’s development, forming 5 systems to categorise certain events, or environments into. This theory helps me to understand the theme of Nature Vs Nurture, as it gives some context as to what environments can affect a child's development. From this, we can work out solutions for each child's situation, to ensure that their development is still progressing.
Child growth and development is a process that consists of some building blocks, which are components that combine in an infinite number of ways (Cherry, n.d.). As a result of the variations of building blocks in a child’s development, educators, psychologists, and philosophers have been constantly engaged in the debate of nature versus nurture debate. Many researchers agree that child development is a complex interaction between his/her genetic background (nature) and his/her environment (nurture). In essence, some developmental aspects are strongly affected by biology whereas other aspects are influenced by environmental factors. From the onset of an individu...
Attachment is crucial to the survival and development of the infant. Kenneth and Klaus points out that the parents bond to their child may be the strongest of all human ties. This relationship has two unique characteristics. First, before birth one individual infant gestates within a part of the mothers body and second, after birth she ensures his survival while he is utterly dependent on her and until he becomes a separate individual. According to Mercer, the power of this attachment is so great that it enables the mother and father to make the unusual sacrifices necessary for the care of their infant. Day after day, night after night; changing diapers, attending to cries, protecting the child from danger, and giving feed in the middle of the night despite their desperate need to sleep (Mercer 22). It is important to note that this original parent-infant tie is the major source for all of the infant’s subsequent attachment and is the formative relationship in the course of which the child develops a sense of himself. Throughout his lifetime the strength and character of this attachment will influence the quality of all future ties to other individuals. The question is asked, "What is the normal process by which a father and mother become attached to a healthy infant?"...