Urie Bronfenbrenner: Toward an Evolutionary Ecological Systems Theory

Through his Bioecological Systems Theory, Urie Bronfenbrenner emphasized school, parish, neighborhood, and other aspects of what behavioral geneticists now call the extra-familial environment. Bronfenbrenner incorporated even the economy, government, and culture into his developmental scheme, knowing that these macrostructural realities trickle-down to influence more local systems, if not the child directly. As recounted in this chapter, life history theorists have extended ecological systems theory such that it incorporates natural ecological systems, not limited to temperature, humidity, parasite prevalence, resource availability, and population density. An evolutionary view of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory then clarifies the extent and direction of influences, while also adding a basement layer of natural ecology that constrains all other levels of influence.