Contextual theories of development hold that it is the context or environment under which a child grows, that is more important than inbuilt mechanisms. These theorists believe that infants and children develop and grow according to the environmental and contextual influences they are posed with and that is what makes them fully functioning adults or disordered adults. Biological influences are seen as secondary if not completely ignorable.

However, these theories have their own limitations and strengths as we can see further. Two of the most important contextual theories were American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner and Lev Vygotsky. Behaviorists like John Watson and B.F. Skinner defined environment as “any and all external focuses that shape the individual’s environment”.

However, others have disagreed and have put forth the idea that the individual also has a role to play in the environment and its not just that he/she gets influenced by environment, meaning a developing individual is not all passive but actively influences the environment he/she grows up in. The place where the child grows may just be very important! Make sure you raise your child in a proper place.

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