ABSTRACT
It is a delight and a challenge to use David Magnusson as a cue for a chapter on the field of human development and the issues that make this field exciting. It is a delight because Magnusson, having produced an impressive body of methods, theoretical concepts, and empirical findings, is a world leader in the field of personality psychology and human development. It is a challenge because Magnusson’s work and academic life are so rich and multifaceted that any effort to represent him adequately is bound to fall short, especially if one adds to the body of accumulated intellectual wealth his roles as a significant personage in the political world of science and as a treasured colleague and mentor to many, at home and abroad. Not surprisingly, therefore, Magnusson is more than an individual, he is the father and carrier of a school of thought that can be expected to reach far into the next generations.
