The Ecosystem Information gathered by Lucy Campanis Revised by Mikki Meadows EIU School of Family & Consumer Sciences

Components of the Family Ecosystem p. 8 “How families interact with one another is shaped not only be the personalities that comprise the family unit but also by the complex set of environments that surround or sustain them.” p. 18

Fundamentals of the Family Ecosystem Family members Environments as perceived by them Human transactions carried out through the family organization “The ecological system framework highlights the interdependence of organisms and environments.”

Elements of the Family Ecosystem Organisms Family members Mutually interdependent Symbiotic relationship Environments Anything external to the family Biophysical Psychosocial technological

Family organization Processes information from its environment for achieving family goals Mediates relationships between the family and its environment Decision-making function

Family Boundaries and Interfaces flexible Influenced by the information coming into the family from the environment(s) Interface Point at which family and environment meet

Open & Closed Families The family is a semi-open system Refers to interchanges with the environment Differ in degrees of openness Families need to maintain both openness and closedness Must be flexible yet stable

Family Decision Makers Monitor information flow and interaction between family and environment Must be able to…… detect the state of the environment, select one response over another, and carry out selected response.

Feedback is the interchange between family organisms and the environment Stabilizes and changes the family ecosystem, keeping it in equilibrium Families perceive and respond to their environments differently under different conditions and at different times

The Family and Its Environment p. 30 Discussion/Reflection Questions: Identify the main point(s) of the reading. What are some of the ways families today are harming the environment for the sake of improving quality of life? Based on the reading, what are some of the ways that technology has helped the family? The reading discusses four types of community decision-making structures. Which Which of these four do you think would be most effective? Why?

External Environments Input from the environments help shape family decisions Family decisions help shape the environments Three environmental systems help shape family choices Natural Technological Agricultural-Industrial Social-Regulatory

The family is linked to external environments through material and energy flows The family is related to social groups through shared access to energy sources and participation in information flows