Description: To understand the way children develop, Bronfenbrenner believes that it is necessary to observe their behavior in natural settings, while they are interacting with familiar adults over prolonged periods of time. His book offers an important blueprint for constructing a new and ecologically valid psychology of development.
Brief description: Urie Bronfenbrenner was Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Human Development and of Psychology at Cornell University.
Review Quotes: The book's purpose: to offer a new theoretical perspective for research in human development. Bronfenbrenner achieves this goal superbly... The synthesis offered in this book is unique... The effect is a perspective on the field of human development that is exciting in its possibilities... This is a usable and practical book...a powerful teaching text... It conveys masterfully the mystery and excitement of scientific investigation.-- "Contemporary Psychology"