As director of the "School of Psychology’s Adult Development Laboratory", Blanchard-Fields led research efforts that address social-cognitive processes in everyday life, from adolescence to older adulthood.
Recognizing that a great deal of psychological research has focused on ways in which cognitive abilities in adulthood decline with older age, Blanchard-Fields, as a gerontologist, and her colleagues focused on investigating domains in which adults continue to grow and develop throughout the lifespan and contribute to their competence in the social realm.
[5] As well as a research psychologist as well as a career and life mentor to many students and faculty, Blanchard-Fields was a world traveler and an enthusiastic dancer.
[8] She was a member of multiple boards including the Scientific Advisory Board for Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Committee on Future Directions in Social Aging Research, and Federal Advisory Committee for the United States Social Security Administration.
[9] During 2007, Blanchard-Fields was the Chair of the Grant Review Panel – Neuroeconomics and Aging, The National Institute of Health.