Ego Development

A research study undertaken with six key thinkers in the fields of human and leadership development reveals fallback as a developmental reality and potential factor in developmental transformation. Extending our burgeoning understanding of fallback beyond individuals, to groups, organizations, and societies is essential to understanding the implications of human development to leadership development. This research may inform the design of environments that embrace the full complexity of humans and create the conditions under which the highest levels of development may be fostered – a pivotal factor in the exercise of leadership and the cultivation of a more civilized and generative society.

This study seeks to evaluate how interventions exposing leaders to ego development models and personality coaching could cultivate leadership maturity. The intervention targeted two levels of adult and leadership development. The first level involved basic understanding of differences in individual and other personalities and preferences. The aim here was to open up an individual’s perspective, fine tune their behavioural repertoire and to help them deal with people and situations more successfully. The second level aimed to provoke the individual to see the world through multiple sets of lenses, and change their interpretations and meaning of experience. The research revealed that maturity interventions were the first stage in sparking the process of maturity development for leaders. The intervention created a level of tension and disharmony that was necessary for participants to question their beliefs and assumptions about both the inner and outer worlds. The study highlights that the program had been successful on the first level; however, success on the second level was contingent on the individual taking the initiative and embracing their development needs. Only then could transition to post-conventional maturity be realized.

Psychologist Robert Kegan also discusses the topic of psychological maturity and positive personality transformation in his book, “The Evolving Self” [21](Kegan, 1982). Using a stage developmental perspective, he describes a theory of how people become progressively more socially mature across their lifespan. Kegan says that as we grow from being a baby into an adult, we become more socially mature and through maturation, we become progressively less subjective and more objective, and thus able to understand better the complexity of the social world. This expanded awareness is a result of emerging from being entrenched in one’s subjective egotistical perspective and, hence, increasing the ability to see things from multiple perspectives. We can see similarities of Kegan’s definition of mature personality qualities to those listed before the devoted practitioner of the Eightfold Path.
Mark Dombeck, Ph.D., in his article “Robert Kegan's Awesome Theory of Social Maturity” [22](Dombeck, 2007) suggests that using Kegan’s analysis, the culmination of an evolving mature personality is, ‘Where does this progression end? Theoretically, it ends in some kind of Buddha-like state of enlightenment, where everything that can be understood objectively is understood objectively and there is no more subjectivity to be embedded in anymore.’ Kegan’s earlier theory described five developmental stages or orders of mind: The Impulsive Mind, Instrumental Mind, Socialized Mind, Self-Authoring Mind, and Self-Transforming Mind. Later, in the book, “In Over Our Heads” (1994) [23], Kegan extends his perspective on psychological development used in the earlier five developmental stages for a newer "orders of consciousness" scheme. He states that all of us actively construct our own reality and that these constructs evolve qualitatively with increasing complexity over time (Kegan, 1994, pgs. 198-199). He developed a model depicting five levels of consciousness; each successive level incorporates more complex ways of knowing. A post fifth level has also been suggested by others including Kim Pearce in his article, “CMM and the Evolution of Social Consciousness”.[5]
Like the Ego Development Stage theories, a person on the Eight-factor Path or Middle Way also progresses with a cognitive development that transforms in relatively discrete stages, with each apprehending greater subtlety and refinement than the last. The Path’s goals are specific to transform, refine and purify our minds through the training of compassion, concentration, and insight. Even though enlightenment is sometimes not considered a process of attainment, the Buddha clearly taught that the Middle Way is a graduated path towards the achievement of Awakening. Bhikkhu Bodhi stated, ‘The Buddha presents his teaching in the form of gradual training. Buddhist discipline involves gradual practice and gradual attainment. It does not burst into completeness at a stroke, but like a tree or any other living organism, it unfolds organically, as a sequence of stages in which each stage rests upon its predecessor as its indispensable foundation and gives rise to its successor as its natural consequent.’ [26](Bodhi, 1978).

This research examined the personal, professional, and developmental impact of introducing a constructive developmental perspective to faculty and students in a post-secondary program in sustainability education and leadership development. It also explored the relationship between adult development and sustainability education, teaching, and mentorship. There is increasing emphasis on integrating human interiors (values, beliefs, worldviews) in sustainability work. However, little research has examined the relationship between adult development and sustainability education. The purpose of this research was to explore deepening the transformative nature of learning and leadership development in graduate education through the use of a developmental framework and assessment, and to contribute to advancing the application of adult developmental research to adult learning and sustainability education. The site of study was Prescott College, and the sample of 11 included four Ph.D. faculty and seven
students. This mixed-methods study included semi-structured interviews, a five-month action inquiry process, and a pre and post developmental assessment. The findings demonstrate that sustainability is significantly different for individuals assessed at different developmental stages;
learning about adult development is transformative developmentally, personally, and professionally; a developmental awareness may deepen the transformative impact of graduate sustainability education and leadership development; and teaching about adult development is more effective when it is developmentally responsive. Integrating a developmental awareness into graduate and sustainability education is recommended to support learning and growth at all stages of development, support the development of the educators themselves, and support skill development for working well with diverse groups.

Balint's great merit was to question what, in the classical perspective, was assumed as a prerequisite for analysis and thus located beyond analysis: the maturity of the ego. A fundamental premise of his work was Ferenczi's distrust for the structural model, which praised the maturity of the ego and its verbal, social, and adaptive abilities. Ferenczi's view of ego maturation as a trauma derivative was strikingly different from the theories of all other psychoanalytic schools and seems to be responsible for Balint's understanding of regression as a sort of inverted process that enables the undoing of the sheltering structures of the mature mind. Balint's understanding of the relation between mature ego and regression diverged not only from the ego psychologists, who emphasized the idea of therapeutic alliance, but also from most of the authors who embraced the object-relational view, like Klein (who considered regression a manifestation of the patient's cravi...

Constructive-development and stage development theory, which posits that
individuals move through different stages or action logics throughout life, has been the foundation for several models of human transformation. The literature on the leading stage theories indicates that research has focused on exploring stages and their behavioral correlates, but little work has been done on how individuals move between stages.

Stage theory has primarily been conceived of as a linear and unidirectional transition from one stage to the next, which encompasses earlier stages, however emerging research has revealed that stage transition may be more fluid and bi-directional than originally thought and may involve fallback to earlier stages in certain circumstances. Further, fallback to an earlier stage of meaning-making may prompt learning that can lead to growth.

The purpose of this study, which used grounded theory methodology, was to examine the phenomenon of fallback through twenty-seven interviews with six key thinkers in the field of adult and leader development: Jennifer Garvey Berger, Susanne Cook-Greuter, Robert Kegan, David McCallum, Chuck Palus, and William Torbert. Several research questions guided this study, with the overall intention of exploring fallback as situated within current developmental theory and learning how these key thinkers understand the fallback phenomenon. This research also examined the role that fallback may play in developmental growth, and how fallback might be studied in the future.

The findings are presented through the key thinkers’ own lenses, then through a cross-key-thinker analysis that suggests that fallback can indeed be understood through the existing theory of stage development. Additional findings indicate that the most important criteria for defining fallback is the absence of options at the more complex level of development that one is capable – be they in thought, feeling, behavior, or meaning-making – and that fallback requires springing forward. This research demonstrates that fallback, under the right conditions has the potential to facilitate developmental growth, and that these conditions for growth to occur are most likely to be met by those in the post-conventional developmental stages. Finally, this exploration reveals the importance of having a theory for understanding fallback to both human and leadership development.

Current statistics of media use in the United States reveal a pervasive pattern of consumption. Almost since its inception, theorists, critics and consumers have speculated on the nature and intensity of mass media effects. Early theories of media
effects presumed media effects were direct, intense and ubiquitous. More recent theories and research reveal a that a host of moderating variables inform these final effects that,
while present, are idiosyncratic to individuals and sociocultural formations. The present study examines the role of individual difference factors, particularly personality traits and
developmental attainments, as two types of moderating variables. A focus is also given to motivations driving individual media use that evidence suggests are also moderated by
individual difference factors. Given the pervasiveness of the media in the lives of many clients, it becomes incumbent upon mental health practitioners to understand both the nature of these effects as well as motivations for media consumption. Therefore, a three pronged
approach to media-based adjunctive interventions to be used in tandem with psychotherapy is examined, with a particular focus on the emerging intervention of cinematherapy. Finally, a metatheoretical structure advanced by philosopher Ken Wilber is proposed as a means for organizing both theory and research into media effects, motivations for consumption and the use of media as adjunct to psychotherapy.

Many efforts are made in the Netherlands and other countries to  foster career learning. It is claimed that it is possible, worthwhile and necessary to  foster the development of career competencies and career identity in education. This arti‑
cle challenges this claim. It is argued that the ambitions of career learning do not match actual knowledge and understandings from developmental and neuropsychology. Instead, a phased model for career development is proposed.

Life narratives are the internalized stories that people construct to provide meaning, purpose, and coherence in their lives. Prior research suggests that psychologically healthy and socially engaged adults generally narrate their lives in a prototypical fashion labeled the redemptive self, consisting of five themes: (a) a sense of childhood advantage, (b) empathy for others’ sufferings, (c) moral steadfastness, (d) turning of negative events into positive outcomes (redemption sequences), and (e) prosocial goals. The current study examines trait correlates of the redemptive self in 157 late-midlife adults. Summing thematic scores across 12 life story interview scenes, the redemptive self was positively associated with four of the Big Five traits: extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability, but unrelated to cognitive features of personality, as assessed on openness and ego development. The findings suggest those with positive socio-emotional personality traits, but not necessarily a proclivity for sophisticated thoughts, tend to have redemptive life stories.

Change Professionals sehen sich im Beratungsgeschehen vielfältigen Anforderungen ausgesetzt. Diese haben nicht nur mit dem eigenen Wissen, verfügbarem Know-how oder dem über Jahre gewonnenen Erfahrungsschatz zu tun. Wie und warum der gleichen Beratungssituation ganz unterschiedlich begegnet werden kann, analysiert der folgende Beitrag auf dem Hintergrund verschiedener Modelle zur Entwicklung des Ichs.

Adults’ sense-making capabilities reflect the stage of their ego development. They: influences how individuals interact with those around them; shapes their construction of reality; affects others’ experience them; and importantly configures how they act. The stage of adult ego development (AED) affects the practice of those in leadership positions in organisations. Arguably, modes of interpretation that are characteristic of the later AED stages are of most value for organising in complex environments. Such environments are: where the number of interactions is high; dynamic due to the changes that can occur, and in a constant state of evolution as they respond to organizational influences (Stacey 2008). School can be considered to be complex environments, indeed Hawkins and James (2016) characterise schools as CELLS – Complex, Evolving, Loosely Linked Systems. The AED stage of headteachers is thus important and of interest. However, despite its significance, very little research has been undertaken into the ego development of school leaders and its implications for practice. Hence the rationale for the research reported here.

Understanding one’s own development as an educator, as well as the developmental diversity of students can have a significant impact on how educators approach teaching, mentorship, and design learning experiences. Developmentally informed educators recognize the phases of development that students are likely to be in and adapt their teaching accordingly. Recognizing developmental diversity, they adjust the outcomes, processes, and mentoring to meet the students where they are developmentally. Without this awareness and knowledge, educational programs are more likely to teach for particular forms of development, which provide an appropriate stretch for some students but not for others. In addition, educators may be more likely to project their own developmental needs onto students, teaching who they are, rather than who is in front of them. This article offers a review of adult development theory, specifically O’Fallon’s STAGES model, and its application to teaching and learning. It includes the results of research on the impact of learning about adult development for faculty and students in a graduate program and the findings of additional research on the meaning- making and perspective-taking of educators through the stages of development. It concludes with practical insights and principles for teaching and mentoring developmentally.

Have you ever wondered why an intelligent and experienced manager is often unable to act adequately when presented with complex situations? A possible answer to that could be the maturity of his action logic – a central personality aspect measurable with methods of developmental psychology.

In this article ego development theory is used to understand differences in managerial competence. The developmental stage of managers seems to play an important role - a personality aspect that is not touched by current approaches of managerial diagnostics.

Change Professionals sehen sich im Beratungsgeschehen vielfältigen Anforderungen ausgesetzt. Diese haben nicht
nur mit dem eigenen Wissen, verfügbarem Know-how oder dem über Jahre gewonnenen Erfahrungsschatz zu tun. Wie
und warum der gleichen Beratungssituation ganz unterschiedlich begegnet werden kann, analysiert der folgende
Beitrag auf dem Hintergrund verschiedener Modelle zur Entwicklung des Ichs.

This Paper is in German ("Horizonte des Verstehens - Entwicklungsstufen des Erwachsenenalters"). It was published in Die Wirtschaftsmediation 4/2013 a German business magazine on mediation. The paper introduces the idea of Positive Adult Development in general and the Stages of Ego Development in particular. The respective action logics are illustrated with regard to conflict behavior.

Als überforderndes, sogar bedrohliches Kennzeichen unserer Zeit wird oft die Komplexität in gesellschaftlichen oder von technischen Systemen aufgerufen. Wir sagen damit, dass uns die Komplexität überfordert, da wir das System nicht in Gänze erfassen, sein Verhalten nicht vorhersehen, nicht vorhersagen können. Pragmatisch 1 gedacht, heißt das, dass wir angesichts einer komplexen Situation nicht wissen, wie wir reagieren bzw. handeln sollen. In solchen Situationen ist die menschliche Bedeutungsbildung – mit einer passenden Handlung auf eine vorausgehende Handlung oder Situation zu reagieren –, die ein verstehendes Kommunizieren erlaubt, empfindlich gestört. 2 Für Kinder sind solche Störungen alltäglich. Sie reagieren auf eine Handlung oder Situation und müssen oft feststellen, dass sie falsch liegen. Sie verstehen nicht, d. h. sie wissen nicht, wie man auf eine bestimmte Handlung reagiert und sind zuweilen damit überfordert. Aber sie finden schnell eine Person, die ihnen hilft, die ihnen zeigt, wie man richtig reagiert, oder eine Maschine, von der sie lernen können, richtig zu reagieren. Der Staatschef, der auf einen Terroranschlag in seiner Hauptstadt reagieren muss, steht wie das Kind vor einer komplexen und neuartigen Situation, in der er sich für eine richtige Reaktion entscheiden muss. Nur kann er keine höhere Instanz fragen, keiner kann ihm sagen, was eine richtige und was eine falsche Handlung ist, da es diese Situation noch nie gegeben hat. Wie diesen politischen oder unternehmerischen Entscheidungsträgern geht es auch Wissenschaftlern. Sie sehen sich Phänomenen gegenüber, die keiner vor ihnen bisher gesehen oder bearbeitet hat. Diese Phänomene erscheinen neu, komplex, unerklärlich, d. h. wir wissen nicht, wie wir mit ihnen umgehen sollen. Am beschriebenen Phänomen der menschlichen Ratlosigkeit, dem Nicht-Wissen, wie zu handeln ist, macht sich aus der Sicht des Pädagogen das grundsätzliche pädagogische Problem fest: Uns fehlen immer wieder gute Strategien, um dem ratlosen Menschen nachhaltige, vielleicht auch effektive Wege zu einem sicheren, d. h. passenden Handeln in einer Gemeinschaft aufzuzeigen. Zu allen Zeiten besteht der pädagogische Impuls, den Menschen in seiner Entwicklung zu unterstützen, indem man ihm richtige Handlungsweisen vorgibt. Diese Vorgaben beginnen im Kindergarten und enden in der Berufsausbildung oder der Universität. Abschließender Höhepunkt pädagogischer Tätigkeit müsste sein, den Menschen zu befähigen, mit dem Neuen, dem Unbestimmten selbstständig umgehen zu können. Am Ende des Wissens, des Bekannten, des Bestimmten angelangt, brauchen Wissenschaftler und Entscheidungsträger Methoden, um angesichts des Unklaren, Unbestimmten, des Neuen in ein eigenständiges bedeutungsbildendes Handeln zu kommen. Man kann sagen, der Höhepunkt pädagogischer Tätigkeit ist die Abschaffung des Pädagogen. Die praktische Pädagogik benötigt also zu allen Zeiten effektive, zeitgemäße und nachhaltige Strategien, um Menschen jeden Alters darin zu unterstützen, über Interaktionen einen funktionalen eigenen Weg der Bedeutungsbildung zu entwickeln, der bis zur völlig autarken Selbstbildung führen kann. Diese Entwicklung hin zu einem handlungsfähigen Menschen wird seit Wilhelm von Humboldt im deutschen Sprachraum mit dem Wort Bildung belegt. Hierbei wird der Prozess des Sich-Bildens als ein Selbst-Werden, ein Sich-Entwickeln der Person in Lernprozessen oft mit dem Prozess des Ausbildens, Be-Lehrens, Erziehens verwechselt. Der Bildungsprozess kommt aber nur der Person selbst zu. Pädagogen müssen daran glauben, dass ihre Tätigkeit eine bildende Wirkung hat, neben oder über jene Interaktionen hinaus, die jeder Mensch im alltäglichen Handeln 1 Ich beziehe mich hier auf die pragmatistische Maxime von Charles Sanders Peirce: " Pragmatism is the principle that every theoretical judgment expressible in a sentence in the indicative mood is a confused form of thought whose only meaning, if it has any, lies in its tendency to enforce a corresponding practical maxim expressible as a conditional sentence having its apodosis in the imperative mood " (Peirce, 1973, S. 6) (CP 5.18). 2 Ich vermute, dass der Begriff der Komplexität je nach Zeitgeschehen austauschbar ist. Begriffe wie Risiko, Informationsflut, Orientierungsverlust waren in deutschen Diskursen um gesellschaftliche Veränderungen zur Jahrtausendwende sehr beliebt. Auch das Wort Krise scheint aktuell ein Marker zu sein, der anzeigt, dass wir nicht wissen, wie wir handeln sollen.

Life narratives are the internalized stories that people construct to produce meaning, purpose, and coherence in their lives. Prior research suggests that midlife adults who show high levels of psychological health and generativity narrate their lives as redemption scripts, consisting of five themes: (1) a sense of childhood advantage, (2) empathy for others’ suffering, (3) moral steadfastness, (4) overcoming adversity, and (5) prosocial goals. The current study examines personality correlates of this redemptive script in 157 midlife adults. Summing thematic scores across 12 different scenes in life story interviews, the redemptive script was significantly associated with four of the Big Five traits: extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability, but unrelated to cognitive features of personality as assessed on the trait of openness and ego development. The findings suggest that positive socio-emotional features of personality undergird redemptive life narratives whereas the proclivity for complex or sophisticated understanding is not required.

This study examined the extent to which the resolution of the Eriksonian final stage-related crisis of ego integrity versus despair is predicted by the resolution of earlier stage-related crises and by non-Eriksonian personality constructs. Subjects were administered an Eriksonian life stage measure called the Inventory of Psychosocial Balance, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Purpose-in-Life Scale, and the Self-Realization Scale. A series of alternative and hierarchically nested regression models was run to assess the direct effects of all preceding Eriksonian life stages and the non-Eriksonian personality measures on the final stage of ego integrity. The results were consistent with Eriksonian theory, which states that personality development is a continuous process in which psychosocial growth during earlier phases of life is a prerequisite for the resolution of later developmental conflicts.

Freud discovered how dreams provide a royal road into the un-conscious, revealing man's good and evil, and how the mundane, base metals of dream life can be transformed into precious metals of an enriched inner world. He distinguished manifest from la-tent contents, using free ...

Life narratives are the internalized stories that people construct to provide meaning, purpose, and coherence in their lives. Prior research suggests that psychologically healthy and socially engaged adults generally narrate their lives in a prototypical fashion labeled the redemptive self, consisting of five themes: (a) a sense of childhood advantage, (b) empathy for others' sufferings, (c) moral steadfastness, (d) turning of negative events into positive outcomes (redemption sequences), and (e) prosocial goals. The current study examines trait correlates of the redemptive self in 157 late-midlife adults. Summing thematic scores across 12 life story interview scenes, the redemptive self was positively associated with four of the Big Five traits: extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability, but unrelated to cognitive features of personality, as assessed on openness and ego development. The findings suggest those with positive socio-emotional personali...

Recalibrating Loewald's (1951) paper on 'Ego and Reality' widens my view and gives me a different / 'newer' perspective on discovering the ‘function’ of non-linear temporality and spatiality with ‘metapsychological’ and ‘clinical’ facet in psychoanalysis (Winnicott, 1955; Schmidt-Hellerau, 2002). Loewald’s (1951) theoretical framework of 'Time' saddened me a little. It makes me wonder how this aspect of 'Time' affects the ways in which the analyst and the analysand meet one another in the analytic situation in relation to Heidegger’s (2008) ‘Being and time.’ Furthermore, Heidegger's ideology of 'Being' and 'beings' intrigues me how intra-psychic and inter-psychic realities function 'inside' and 'outside' (Chasseguet-Smirgel, 1992) of the 'self,' the 'differentiated self,' and the 'integrated self' (Mahler & McDevitt, 1982) in the working-through (Freud, 1914) of the "archaic matrix of the Oedipus complex.” These psychic phenomena could be observed, co-created, and interpreted in the potential space (Winnicott, 1971) and object-relationships could be experienced and transformed through therapeutic action (Loewald, 1960) in the analytic process.

Executive Judgment may be assessed  by interview or writing. Children under the age of twelve should be interviewed. The document provides a convenient form to assess Executive Judgment or Ego Development with an adolescent or adult  when direct interview is not practical or feasible.

Ausgangspunkt: Inklusion ist nicht voraussetzungslos. Eine Restrukturierung (nicht nur) des Systems institutioneller Erziehung und Bildung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland unter dem Leitbild der Inklusion kann nicht losgelöst betrachtet werden von der Frage, welche Verständnisweisen, Weltsichten, Fähigkeiten (angehende) Pädagog*innen in die Lage versetzen (sollen), diesem Auftrag gerecht zu werden – und wie diese Fähigkeiten gegebenenfalls herausgebildet werden (können). Im Folgenden wird der Forschungsansatz einer laufenden Studie vorgestellt, die zu dieser Frage – und zu ihrer Klärung – beitragen möchte, indem Inklusions- und daraus resultierende Handlungskonzepte von Studierenden erziehungswissenschaftlicher Studiengänge an der Universität Erfurt herausgearbeitet werden. In einem innovativen Ansatz qualitativer Sozialforschung wird ein kategoriales Modell angestrebt, welches den Entwicklungsverlauf wachsender Komplexität der Konzeptualisierung von Inklusion abbildet und es ermöglicht, die Inklusionskonzepte angehender Pädagog*innen mit denjenigen Konzepten ins Verhältnis zu setzen, die im wissenschaftlichen Diskurs und in der politischen Debatte vorfindlich sind. So soll es möglich werden, Implikationen für eine universitäre Lehre zu beschreiben, die Inklusion auch in der Weise ‚inklusiv’ lehrt, dass sie den verschieden komplexen Verständnishorizonten von Studierenden gerecht wird.