Final Thoughts
We are done!!!!! Revising this book has been thrilling. I’ve gotten a birds-eye view of the research strides developmental scientists have made within just a few years. In these past three years, I’ve witnessed human development mature into vigorous midlife. So, bear with me as I take one last page to summarize four personal top pick new research trends.
TREND NUMBER ONE: Developmental science is a truly global research field.
Until recently, lifespan research was fairly uni-dimensionally focused on the United States. Now, our studies have expanded to the world. From the path-breaking European findings on day care, attachment, and, especially, emerging adulthood, to the impressive Canadian and Australian longitudinal research exploring adult life, scientists from every developed nation have emerged as leaders in our field. Moreover, no longer are Western research teams studying people from India or China or Iran. Now, developing world scientists are chiming in as full participants in our field.
TREND NUMBER TWO: Developmental scientists are tracking the roots of later development into very early life.
Another exciting advance relates to epigenetics—the elegant studies suggesting events in utero and our earliest years may help program development well into old age. Now, we know graphically that preschool poverty or stress may increase our mid-life allostatic load. We understand that our obesity pathway may be partly set in motion during the first year of life. At the same time, we realize more firmly that development occurs at every life stage.
TREND NUMBER THREE: Developmental scientists understand that living can be immensely fulfilling at the upper ends of life.
This brings up the studies exploring positive human development—in particular, the heartening research demonstrating that emotional growth occurs well into later life. No longer can we accept the gloom and doom idea that older people are unhappy or that the physical losses of aging extend to people’s emotional lives. Not only are older people—even into their eighties—happy, scientists are homing in on the interpersonal and societal forces that make for a fulfilling old age (and happy human life!).
TREND NUMBER FOUR: Developmental scientists are making landmark strides in exploring the biology of human development.
At the same time, we know far more about the biological forces shaping behavior—from the studies tracking cortisol, or oxytocin, to the explosion of research using the fMRI and tentative findings suggesting there may be environment-sensitive genes. As I’ve mentioned, this biologically oriented research is in its infancy. The complexity of development can never be reduced to hormones, slices of DNA, or single brain parts. Still, who knows what insights we might have about genetics and the brain in the next few years!