The Ecology of Human Development – Experiments by Nature and Design

In this book, Bronfenbrenner presents a theoretical perspective for ecological research on human development that differs in many ways from Barker’s orientation. Three research paradigms are presented: studies of ecological transition, transforming experiments. and studies of contrasting environments. An important aspect of this book is Bronfenbrenner’s critique of the laboratory as a context for observing human development. Bronfenbrenner gives evidence that the laboratory, as an unfamiliar and atypical context for both parents and children, evokes behaviour that is different from behaviour in natural contexts.