In Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model, which of the following would be categorized in the Exosystem?

In Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model, which of the following would be categorized in the Exosystem?

• A. A parent's workplace policies affecting family life
• B. The child's classroom peer group
• C. The neighborhood playground
• D. The child's own beliefs

Answer: (A)

Exosystem involves settings that don’t involve the child directly but still influence the child’s world by shaping the environments the child does interact with. A parent's workplace policies affecting family life fit here because they don’t place the child in that workplace, yet they affect family routines, financial stability, and the amount of time a parent can spend with the child. Those indirect effects ripple into the child’s daily life and development. The child’s classroom peers and neighborhood playground are part of the microsystem—the immediate environment where the child directly interacts. The child’s own beliefs are internal characteristics, not external settings. So the workplace policies example best represents the Exosystem.

Exosystem involves settings that don’t involve the child directly but still influence the child’s world by shaping the environments the child does interact with. A parent's workplace policies affecting family life fit here because they don’t place the child in that workplace, yet they affect family routines, financial stability, and the amount of time a parent can spend with the child. Those indirect effects ripple into the child’s daily life and development. The child’s classroom peers and neighborhood playground are part of the microsystem—the immediate environment where the child directly interacts. The child’s own beliefs are internal characteristics, not external settings. So the workplace policies example best represents the Exosystem.