The founding issue of the Journal of Developmental Science was published in July 2026.
SPIRALAcademic Press
Research/Journal of Developmental Science/Article
EditorialOpen Access

Why Developmental Science? The Case for an Integrative Science of Human Becoming

Fredah Mainah, PhD[0009-0009-7949-523X]
SPIRAL With Fredah LLC
Journal
Journal of Developmental Science
Volume/Issue
Vol. 1, No. 1 (2026)
Pages
pp. 6–8

Abstract

This editorial introduces the Journal of Developmental Science and makes the case for Developmental Science as a distinct, integrative discipline. The author argues that the fragmentation of human development research across psychology, neuroscience, education, and organizational science has created a gap — a gap that Developmental Science is uniquely positioned to fill. Drawing on the SPIRAL framework and the author's lived experience as a transformation leader, this editorial articulates the intellectual foundations, disciplinary boundaries, and scholarly ambitions of the new journal.

Further Reading

Works for further study on the themes of this article.

  1. Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 23(5), 611-626. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.23.5.611
  2. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513-531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513
  3. Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2007). The bioecological model of human development. In Handbook of Child Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0114
  4. Cairns, R. B. (1992). The making of a developmental science: The contributions and intellectual heritage of James Mark Baldwin. Developmental Psychology, 28(1), 17-24. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.28.1.17
  5. Gottlieb, G. (2005). Probabilistic epigenesis of development. In Handbook of Developmental Psychology (pp. 3-17). https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608306.n1
  6. Magnusson, D., & Cairns, R. B. (1996). Developmental science: Toward a unified framework. In Developmental Science (pp. 7-30). https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571114.003
  7. Overton, W. F. (2013). A new paradigm for developmental science: Relationism and relational-developmental systems. Applied Developmental Science, 17(2), 94-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2013.778717
  8. Sameroff, A. (2010). A unified theory of development: A dialectic integration of nature and nurture. Child Development, 81(1), 6-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01378.x

Books by Our Authors

Titles by the authors of this issue and by the press's founder.

Keywords

developmental sciencehuman developmentintegrative disciplineSPIRAL frameworklifespan development
Open Access

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