Introduction

This chapter provides a comprehensive summary of the history of human development and family science (HDFS), highlighting the connections between disciplines to showcase the transdisciplinary nature of HDFS. To achieve this aim, we first outline the early history of the fields that predominantly shaped the development of HDFS: home economics, family sociology, and developmental psychology. Pertinent to examining HDFS as a discipline is that the development of family science and developmental science, although complementary to one another, have often developed in divergent manners. Then, we discuss how home economics transitioned into present-day HDFS.