By contemporary I mean a present with an anticipated future, for we must do our best to overcome clinical habits which make us assume that we have done our part if we have clari?ed the past. (Erikson, 1968, pp. 30-31). The scope of time ahead which in?uences present behavior, and is therefore to be regarded as part of the present life-space, increases during development. This change in time perspective is one of the most fundamental facts of development. Adolescence seems to be a period of particularly deep change in respect to time perspective. (Lewin, 1939, p. 879). I chose to open this book with two excerpts from Erikson's and Lewin's writings because they indicate that future orientation has had its deep roots in psychol- ical thinking, and call readers' attention to the long standing interest in two f- damental issues: the motivational power of constructed future images and their development across age. More speci?cally, Erikson and Lewin's writings und- score the importance of future thinking for in?uencing present behavior tendencies, and point out that the ability to think about the future and realize the "scope of time ahead" increase with age, and reach a special developmental signi?cance in adolescence.
Professor Rachel Seginer's research focuses on the development of adolescents and emerging adults. Although her main interest in recent years has focused on future orientation in ecological perspective, her work also examines sibling relationships and parents' educational involvement and its effect on educational outcomes. Her studies have been published in leading developmental and cross-cultural journals and edited volumes. She serves on the editorial boards of two journals: the Journal of Research on Adolescence and the Journal of Adolescent Research. Professor Seginer received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She is the former Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel, where she is currently teaching developmental and adolescent development courses.
