Lives in Time and Place: The Problems and Promises of Developmental Science

Time and place are of the greatest significance for scientific inquiry about human lives. As we seek to better understand the nature and rhythm of the life course in modern societies, its effective analysis and explanation simultaneously becomes more pressing and more complicated. This information is crucial for developing and reforming social policies, services, and interventions aimed at improving human development and welfare. Yet as our scientific treatments have become more elaborate, they have also become more fragmented within and between academic disciplines, across the study of specific life periods, and by method.

Rick Settersten, Ph.D. is Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University, and Endowed Director of the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families