INTERNATIONAL 8th USBİLİM EDUCATION, ECONOMY, MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CONGRESS
THE EXAMINATION OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
Yazarlar:
Fatma Zehra DOĞAN
Yayıncı:
Akademik Paylaşım Platformu Publishing House - APP Publications
The effort to understand human nature has been a central focus of study for scientists from the earliest periods of history to the present day. Numerous theories have been developed on this subject. Some of these theories emphasize heredity and individual factors, while others prioritize social environment and cultural factors. This text examines two theories that place a significant emphasis on the social environment. One of these theories is Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory, and the other is Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. Both theories consider the individual’s development within the context of family, social environment, and culture. The psychosocial development theory explains human development through eight stages, each involving different psychosocial crises. These stages are trust vs.mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair. The ecological systems theory, on the other hand, discusses the impact of environmental systems on individual development. In this context, Bronfenbrenner identified five environmental systems, namely: the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. Both theories explain human development through the lens of environmental interactions. Each theory examines how broader social structures, beginning with the family as the smallest unit of society, impact personality. Additionally, both theories consider humans as active beings. While individuals shape their environments, they are also influenced by the environments in which they exist, meaning that the relationship between the individual and the environment is bidirectional, involving mutual interaction. Furthermore, both theories approach the individual’s developmental process in terms of units and stages, making it easier to consider the two theories together. This study links and analyzes these two theories, which emphasize environmental factors in individual development, to provide a more comprehensive perspective on development by seeking solutions to the psychosocial crises corresponding to each layer. In this framework, the relationship between the two theories, how they complement each other, and their limitations are examined. It is believed that identifying the points of intersection between the different developmental levels in both theories will help us better understand the human developmental process.
