Contexts of Development

Conceptual Views

This section gives a very brief description of two overarching theories used to describe and explain human development in context. First, RDS theories view development as occurring through a bidirectional, mutually influential relationship between the individual and his or her contexts. The salience of certain contextual features over [Page 450]others is thought to depend in large part on the individual’s developmental period.

Second, Bronfenbrenner’s EST, also referred to as the bioecological model, posits that development occurs via reciprocal interactions between an individual and his or her environment. In other words, people affect and are affected by their contexts, both directly and indirectly, and both individuals and their environments adapt to those changes. These developmental processes vary depending on individual characteristics and the environmental (and historical) context.

The ecological environment consists of several nested structures, moving from immediately surrounding the individual outward. The microsystem is the most proximal of these settings, consisting of those elements (e.g., family, school, workplace) with which the individual interacts on a daily basis. The mesosystem is composed of interactions between elements of the microsystem—for example, the interaction between a child’s parents and his or her teacher.

One step out from the mesosystem is the exosystem, which contains somewhat more distal elements of the individual’s environment; the individual does not directly interact with these contexts, but they can indirectly affect him or her. For instance, a person’s neighborhood, the government (local, state, or federal), and other larger structures may make up an individual’s exosystem. The macrosystem is still more distal from the individual and encompasses the laws (formal) and values (informal) of the society in which human development occurs.

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