ABSTRACT
I only realized I'd become a “developmentalist” after it happened to me. I set out to be a sociologist, but with time began to recognize how a developmentalist thinks, and ultimately realized that I had become a sociologist who studied development over the life course. I suppose that says something about how professional identities emerge and crystalize during an academic career. Unlike standard economic theory, which posits fixed preferences and rational choice, I, like most sociologists, believe that preferences are formed and expressed in social interactions, which in turn are shaped by the contexts in which those interactions occur.
