What the exam asks
- Concept application (Section I): Identifying which ecological system, parenting style, attachment style, or play type is illustrated in a scenario.
- Research methods & data (Section I & AAQ): Recognizing why studies on parenting styles and human attachment are typically correlational or longitudinal rather than experimental, and interpreting operational definitions of infant behaviors (such as minutes of crying or proximity-seeking).
- Argumentation (EBQ): Using concepts like contact comfort, temperament, or authoritative parenting to explain why study evidence supports a claim about child development.
Core ideas
Ecological systems theory
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory proposes that development is shaped by five nested environmental systems interacting with the child:
| System | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Microsystem | Immediate environments and relationships the child directly experiences every day. | Parents, siblings, classroom teacher, peers. |
| Mesosystem | Connections and interactions between two or more of the child’s microsystems. | A parent-teacher conference; how home stress affects school peer interactions. |
| Exosystem | Indirect environments the child does not directly participate in, but which still affect them through their microsystem. | A parent’s workplace schedule change or local school board funding decisions. |
| Macrosystem | Overarching cultural values, societal norms, laws, and economic systems. | Collectivist vs. individualist cultural norms regarding child-rearing. |
| Chronosystem | The dimension of time: both life transitions and historical events. | Starting middle school, parents’ divorce, or growing up during a global pandemic. |
Parenting styles and cultural context
Diana Baumrind identified three major parenting styles defined by levels of warmth (responsiveness) and control (demandingness):
- Authoritarian: High control, low warmth. Parents enforce strict rules, expect unquestioning obedience (“Because I said so”), and use punishment rather than explanation.
- Authoritative: High control, high warmth. Parents set clear, consistent limits but explain the reasoning behind rules and encourage open discussion and age-appropriate independence.
- Permissive: Low control, high warmth. Parents are affectionate and indulgent, make few maturity demands, and rarely enforce rules.