Which example best fits the exosystem in Bronfenbrenner's model?

• A. A child's interactions with siblings at home
• B. A parent's workplace policies affecting the child's routines
• C. The child's daily breakfast
• D. The child's neighborhood playground

Answer: (B)

Exosystem involves settings that influence the child without the child directly participating in them. A parent's workplace policies affecting the child's routines is the best example because the child doesn’t go to the workplace, but those policies shape the parent's schedule, childcare arrangements, and stress levels, which in turn alter the child’s daily routines at home.

The other options describe environments the child directly experiences. Interactions with siblings at home are part of the immediate family micro-system; the child's daily breakfast is a routine within the home micro-system; the neighborhood playground is a place the child directly uses within the micro-system.