Bronfenbrenner Case

Bronfenbrenner believed "that human development is best explained in terms of the interaction between individuals and the environments in which they live or have lived." (Witt & Mossler, 2010, Urie Bronfenbrenne and Ecological Theory, para. 1). This is known as the ecological theory and he broke it down into four categories, also known as rings. School, which is described as part of the microsysystem, was always a very important thing to my mother. Beginning in the sixth grade up until I graduated I attended a Performing Arts school. There was a waiting list to even be enrolled into the school, an audition was mandatory before you could be accepted, and you had to have and maintain at least a 2.1 GPA. With all the strict rules on admission the few that attended the school were those that were focused on getting a great education and were really goal oriented. I believe my high school helped me develop into a young woman that has a positive outlook on the future and gave me plenty of options when it comes to making decisions in life due to the fact that they instilled in us that furthering our education was not a choice but better yet something that just happens after high school.

My exosystem has also helped develop who I am today. Growing up our economy was not as bad as it is today. I indulged in plenty of after school programs with my school and my mother had a steady job that made it possible for her to take care of my siblings and I with no extra support. Because of the after school programs I was able to stay out of trouble and because my mother had a good paying job I did not have to spend my childhood trying to go to school and work to help with family expenses.

For me, my microsystem had the strongest influences. I believe nurture has a stronger influence on adult development because family, friends, church, your neighbors, etc are the people you see most often. They are going to influence how you develop into an adult, in a good or bad way, whether you want them to or not simply because you are around them.

Witt, G.A., & Mossler, R.A. (2010). Adult development and life assessment. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/4