The Origins of You
How Childhood Shapes Later Life
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A Marginal Revolution Book of the Year
"Brings the groundbreaking research of the top developmental psychologists of the past quarter-century to a wider audience...A masterpiece!"--Dante Cicchetti, Institute for Child Development at the University of Minnesota
"Deliver[s] a flood of insights around the book's central question: To what degree do our childhood personalities and behaviors predict our adult selves?"--Wall Street Journal
"One of the best and most important works of the last few years...Fascinating."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
Does childhood temperament predict adult personality? What role do parents play in shaping how a child matures? Is day care bad--or good--for children? Does adolescent delinquency forecast a life of crime? Do genes influence success in life? Is one's health shaped by childhood experiences? In search of answers to these questions, four leading psychologists dedicated their careers to studying thousands of people, observing them as they grew and emerging with unprecedented insight into what makes us who we are.
They found that human development is not subject to ironclad laws so much as a matter of possibilities and probabilities--multiple forces that together determine the direction of one's life. The early years do predict who we become, but they do so imperfectly. At once actionable and revelatory, The Origins of You is an invaluable guide for parents, teachers, and anyone working with or caring for children.
About this Author
Jay Belsky is Emeritus Professor of Human Development at the University of California, Davis. He is a coauthor of The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life.
Avshalom Caspi is the Edward M. Arnett Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University and Professor of Personality Development at King's College London. He is a recipient of the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology.
Terrie E. Moffitt is the Nannerl O. Keohane University Professor at Duke University and Professor of Social Behaviour and Development at King's College London. She has received a host of honors, including the 2022 Grawemeyer Award in Psychology and the Stockholm Prize in Criminology, and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Richie Poulton was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, where he served as codirector of the National Centre for Lifecourse Research. An elected fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, he received the New Zealand Prime Minister's Science Prize for the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study.
Reviews
This book's authors, having plumbed their data in depth, deliver a flood of insights around the book's central question: To what degree do our childhood personalities and behaviors predict our adult selves?
Will prove one of the best and most important works of the last few years...Fascinating.
The Origins of You brings the groundbreaking research of the top developmental psychologists of the past quarter-century to a wider audience. The book captures the genius and visionary stature of its authors and illustrates their profound influence on the current and future thinking of the field. A masterpiece!
It's hard to imagine a better introduction to the way that contemporary developmental scientists think than The Origins of You, and it is hard to think of a more qualified group of writers, themselves among the most important, creative, and accomplished scholars in the field, to serve as guides. In much the same way that Bronfenbrenner's The Ecology of Human Development forever changed the way we think about the environment, this book will change the way we think about the process of development itself. The Origins of You is destined to become a classic.
The Origins of You poses a question that is both timely and timeless: how does each of us become the unique person we are? Drawing upon the most authoritative psychological studies ever conducted on the topic, the authors offer a treasure trove of remarkable insights that both underscore the complexity of human development and affirm the power of human resilience.
For those new to cohort literature, The Origins of You is an engaging introduction. For those familiar with this work, it is a chance to hear the authors thinking aloud, debating the best approaches and pondering what to study next. We can be certain that those conversations will now include how best to use these rich longitudinal resources to understand the effects of COVID-19.
A fascinating book from an outstanding team of scientists, dedicated to answering the central questions about how lives develop.
The Origins of You deserves to be read by everyone who wants to understand human development.
Engaging...Displays scope and curiosity, as the authors look at genetic factors, whether early circumstances can forecast certain later developmental outcomes, how and if the family experience and the environmental situation shape aspects of later life, and the role of the childhood experience in determining elements of adult health.
This thought-provoking volume should fascinate psychology students.
Tells us which types of children grow up to be which types of adults, and it offers hints as to how childhood experiences can aid or hinder human development...A must-read.
A compelling journey exploring the results of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study...Its findings are the x-marks-the-spot treasure trove that will help teachers, school administrators, and child psychologists support the growth and development of children.
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