DOCSLIB.ORG

How Might Adult Constructive-Developmental Theory Support Design of Adaptive Learning? Cherry Stewart1 and Brenda Wolodko2

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
How Might Adult Constructive-Developmental Theory Support Design of Adaptive Learning? Cherry Stewart1 and Brenda Wolodko2 MIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION University Educator Mindsets: How Might Adult Constructive-Developmental Theory Support Design of Adaptive Learning? Cherry Stewart1 and Brenda Wolodko2 ABSTRACT— This article explores Robert Kegan’s academic developers to implement relevant processes lead- adult constructive-developmental (ACD) theory. We ing to mindful uptake of interactive digital tools for teaching compare these ideas to the way educators at each of in blended and online-only programs. At present, examples Kegan’s meaning-making levels might plan, implement, found in the professional development (PD) literature often and assess digitally enhanced teaching activities. Using take a one-size fits all approach replicating how educa- Drago-Severson’s interpretation of Kegan’s concepts, tors approach their own teaching. Despite declarations that the authors propose that behaviors of university teach- PD efforts are promoting, constructivist approaches many ing practitioners indicate mindsets evident at four ACD appear to be disguised forms of didactic and behaviorist levels—instrumental, socialized, self-authoring, and teaching in the hope that a new technique or technology self-transforming. Higher education professional develop- will resolve the complex challenges faced in the transition ment literature has identified a significant gap in practitioner from face-to-face teaching to blended or online only modes implementation of interactive strategies using digital tools. (Amundsen & Wilson, 2012). Why might this be so? It would If university practitioners increase their mental complex- be important to know how to support and challenge univer- ity they may become more adaptive in the application of sity educators as they transition from traditional face-to-face interactive pedagogies and digital technologies. Adaptive teaching into blended or online-only modes, particularly approaches might cultivate new pedagogies supporting and as technology makes these newer models more attractive challenging students toward more complex and flexible in complex educational environments. Adaptive approaches qualities of mind. seek to expand both the individual and the workgroup ability to make changes in an inventive and collaborative manner. Appropriately planned and implemented capacity building The purpose of this article is to examine Robert Kegan’s adult activities might support and challenge university educators constructive-developmental (ACD) theory and its relevance as they adjust their mindsets about the use of technology for to the mindsets of teaching practitioners in a university interactive teaching. setting. A comprehensive understanding of the theory and its implications to teaching practice might assist university COMPLEX MENTAL CAPACITIES OVERCOME 1Macquarie University SINGULAR MINDSETS 2University of New England Our use of “mindset” in this article refers to ways of thinking Address correspondence to Cherry Stewart, School of Education, Mac- quarie University, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie, New South and meaning making developed over time through contex- Wales 2109, Australia; e-mail: [email protected] tual interactions and personal relationships. These ways of Volume 10—Number 4 © 2016 The Authors. Mind, Brain, and Education published by International Mind, Brain, and Education Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 247 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. University Educator Mindsets thinking set our values and standards of judgment influenc- Constructing Our Perspectives ing how we make decisions (Lehrer, 2009). The mindset acts We begin the discussion of mental development and learn- as a filter, selectively shaping and limiting perceptions, cogni- ing with Kegan’s encompassing view of “mind,” “mental,” tion, and feelings, thus focusing attention on a particular line or “knowing” (1982, 1998) as more than a thinking process of action (Haager, Kuhbandner, & Pekrun, 2014; Mezirow, (cognitivism) or behavioral response (behaviorism). The pro- 1997). Process and product-focused activities are different cess of learning (mental development) is more than embod- traditions of engaging with information. They create differ- ied cognition (Osgood-Campbell, 2013) and the bringing ent pathways in the brain resulting in the creation of different together of the conscious mind and the living brain (Camp- mindsets (Dweck, 2012). Kegan’s stage-based ACD theory bell, 2011). “Knowing” is a personal internal construction links ways of thinking with levels of mental complexity and of a lived experience linked to emotional responses that we variable mindsets (1982, 1998; Kegan & Lahey, 2009). Based express to an external world. It is the mental construction on Piagetian concepts, Kegan’s theory extends into adult- (synaptic network) a person creates with the sum of their hood and emphasizes shifts in meaning-making capacity and biological, cultural, political, economic, and social experi- ways of understanding world phenomena. Kegan adopted ences (Zull, 2011) within the context of other “knowers.” Erikson’s perspective that a person has the “capacity to unify “Knowing” in this manner is contrary to “the notion that our his experience and his action in an adaptive manner” (as knowledge must somehow correspond to a world thought to cited in Kegan, 1982, p. vii). be [totally] independent of the knower” (Glasersfeld, 2000, ACD is receiving increasing attention and has been p. 2). applied to a variety of human activities. For example: public Kegan’s theory (1982, 1998) of adult meaning making is a school leadership (Drago-Severson, 2012; Wagner et al., relational theory that places the thinking and acting person 2005), policymakers (Rowson, 2012), counseling (Eriksen, within complex contexts. Our biological and social beings 2008), employee motivation (Bugenhagen & Barbuto, 2012), work together to make sense of the complexity of contempo- leadership (Helsing & Howell, 2014), cross-cultural capacity rary societies (Zull, 2011). The theory reduces the dichotomy development (Lindsley, 2011), and citizenry (Mezey, 2012). between “knowing” as either an internal construction or an However, we are unaware of studies applied to university external world to a relationship between these two philo- educators and their preparation or implementation of digital sophical perspectives. Based on the mental complexity the- technologies in teaching. This theory provides a framework ory, a capacity building framework might develop minds for how mindsets govern our decision making; and thus, as that are able to encompass contextual complexity. In Kegan’s university educators, how we might come to envision our words, “It is about the organizing principle we bring to our own development and thence our university teaching as thinking, our feelings and our relating to others and our relat- capacity building. ing to parts of ourselves” (1998, p. 29). Development Over a Lifespan KEGAN’S THEORY OF ADULT Our daily lives are ruled by concepts and how we respond CONSTRUCTIVE-DEVELOPMENT to them. Our concepts evolve through our lived experiences including formal and informal education—how we come The theory focuses on the structure and process of an to know what something is, how it operates, what it is individual’s meaning-making system. Three basic concepts for,whentouseornotuseit.Moreoftenthannot,these underpin this theory of increasing mental complexity: concepts are “taken-for-granted,” yet they evolve over our lifetime as we take on board new ideas and experience new 1Itoriginatesinconstructivistphilosophieswherewe events and relationships. We may be constantly changing our actively construct meaning from our experiences and understanding of them over time, or we may “set” a particular build a “self” through interpersonal pathways; perspective without realizing its impact on our thoughts and 2 It is developmental over time and throughout the whole actions (Kegan & Lahey, 2009). of life, relying on appropriate supports and challenges to achieve each level; and 3 It balances the relationship between “what we can take a Subject-Object Relationships perspective on (hold as ‘object’) and what we are embed- Kegan’s theory of increasing mental complexity incorporates ded in and cannot see or be responsible for (are ‘subject staged transitioning where “the deep structure of any princi- to’)” (Drago-Severson, 2008, p. 37). ple of mental organization is the subject–object relationship” (1998, p. 32). The process of changing one’s mindset is one The following three sections explain these three ideas in of managing to step outside a particular reactive point of greater detail. view (subject-response) to look at the phenomenon from a 248 Volume 10—Number 4 Cherry Stewart and Brenda Wolodko different perspective—as an object. “Subject refers to those elements of our knowing or organizing that we are identified with, tied to, fused with, or embedded in. We have object; we are subject. We cannot be responsible for, in control of, or reflect upon that which is subject” (Kegan, 1998, p. 32). Mindsets remain hidden from knowing. Forexample,weeachwouldhaveasubjectiveconceptof “university.” The concept has been compiled over time: what universities we might have attended, how they operated, what we liked about them, what we did not like. We would have absorbed
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Study of the Application of the Concepts of Karen Horney in Leadership Development Within the National Management Association of the Boeing Company
    Pepperdine University Pepperdine Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations 2010 A study of the application of the concepts of Karen Horney in leadership development within the National Management Association of the Boeing company Frank Z. Nunez Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd Recommended Citation Nunez, Frank Z., "A study of the application of the concepts of Karen Horney in leadership development within the National Management Association of the Boeing company" (2010). Theses and Dissertations. 90. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/90 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology A STUDY OF THE APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPTS OF KAREN HORNEY IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE NATIONAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE BOEING COMPANY A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Organizational Change by Frank V. Nunez November, 2010 Susan Nero, Ph.D.– Dissertation Chairperson This dissertation, written by Frank V. Nunez under the guidance of a Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been submitted to and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Doctoral Committee: Susan Nero, Ph.D., Chairperson Rogelio Martinez, Ed.D. Kent Rhodes, Ph.D. © Copyright by Frank V. Nunez (2010) All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparison of Classic Human Development Theorists and the Implications for a Model of Developmental Social Interaction
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 407 125 PS 025 355 AUTHOR 011hoff, Jim TITLE Human Development Theories: A Comparison of Classic Human Development Theorists and the Implications for a Model of Developmental Social Interaction. PUB DATE Jun 96 NOTE 20p. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Child Development; *Friendship; *Individual Development; *Interaction; *Interpersonal Relationship; Models; *Theories IDENTIFIERS *Developmental Theory; Erikson (Erik); Fowler (James); Freud (Sigmund); Kohlberg (Lawrence); Piaget (Jean); Selman (Robert) ABSTRACT This paper explores several theories of human development, with particular attention to the development of social interaction. Part 1 compares and contrasts major developmental theories, including those of Freud, Erikson, Piaget, Kohlberg, Kegan, Fowler, and Selman. From birth to 1 year, infants are laying the foundation that will guide their later social interactions. Between years 2 and 5 the beginnings of autonomy and the dominance of egocentrism can be observed. Children ages 6 to 12 show concrete thinking, the emergence of the self-concept, the freedom from impulses, and the need to be successful. Youth, age 13 and older, show many precursors of adult attitudes and behaviors, with identity formation as a major issue, the possibility of abstract thought, and the beliefs of the community as a source of strength. Part 2 applies those theories to the expanding understanding of friendship, emphasizing the friendships of school-age children. Self-acceptance plays a crucial role in social interaction development. In Stage 1 of friendships, birth to 2 years, children play in each other's presence rather than with each other. Stage 2, ages 2 to 5, involves quickly changing friendships, characterized by creativity, joint fantasy, and shared imagination.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Towards a Deeper Understanding of Epistemic Beliefs Development
    1 Towards a deeper understanding of epistemic beliefs development: The contribution of threshold concepts and implications for understanding the ways of knowing and being of experienced educational developers Julie A. Timmermans Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology McGill University, Montreal November 2011 A dissertation submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology © Julie A. Timmermans 2011 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have had the privilege of great company for the journey of completing this dissertation. My life has been enriched in so many ways by knowing and working with my supervisor, Dr. Cynthia Weston. Cynthia, my graduate school experience has been stimulating, exciting, and fulfilling thanks to your expert guidance. Your thoughtful questions and feedback have encouraged me to clarify my assumptions and explore new directions for my thinking. I am also deeply grateful for your support of my decisions to make time for (new) life during my studies. You are a model of intelligence, integrity, and grace, and I would be honoured if, one day, someone were to compare me to you. I am grateful to Dr. Alenoush Saroyan for inspiring me to do my best work. Alenoush, you are a model of an intelligent, articulate, and thoughtful professor. Your expert teaching and advising have encouraged rigorous and creative thinking. I came away from your courses feeling transformed as a scholar. I am also deeply grateful for the steadfast support you have shown for my work throughout my doctoral studies, supporting my grant proposals and fellowship applications. It is an honour to have Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Wisdom Development of Leaders: a Constructive Developmental Perspective
    WISDOM DEVELOPMENT OF LEADERS: A CONSTRUCTIVE DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE John E. Barbuto, Jr. California State University at Fullerton, USA Michele L. Millard Creighton University, USA This paper proposes a framework linking constructive development theory and the development of wisdom in leaders. Kegan’s (1982) theory of constructive development – consisting of five stages (Level 1 – Impulsive; Level 2 – Instrumental; Level 3 – Interpersonal; Level 4 – Institutional; Level 5 – Inter- individual) – is linked with the development of wisdom in leaders. A reciprocal relationship between constructive development and wisdom development is proposed. As leaders increase their capacity for constructive development, they will concurrently develop wisdom. Future research and potential implications of this proposed framework are also discussed. he concept of wisdom has gained increased attention in the literature with attempts to define, operationalize and measure this complex and multidimensional construct T (Webster, 2007; Sternberg, 2007). The concept of wisdom, explored from both explicit and implicit perspectives, has evolved from work in the conceptual realm as well as empirical research. Conceptual studies have explored wisdom using the constructs of compassion (Ardelt, 2004), procedural knowledge and life span contextualism (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000), mental attention and consciousness (Pascual-Leone, 2000), seeing through illusion (McKee & Barber, 1999) and ability to find deeper meanings (Sternberg, 2005a). Empirical studies have complemented this research by exploring constructs of moral reasoning (Pasupathi & Staudinger, 2001), life experience analysis (Bluck & Glück, 2004), integration and embodiment (Yang, 2008b), age and performance (Mickler & Staudinger, 2008), self-transcendence (Le, 2008), scale development (Greene & Brown, 2009), wisdom-related performance (Glück & Baltes, 2006), and age and culture (Takashashi & Overton, 2002).
    [Show full text]
  • HDC 6130 Developmental Counseling Psychology
    VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY PEABODY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Department of Human and Organizational Development Human Development Counseling Program Instructor: Andy Finch HDC 6130: Developmental Counseling Psychology COURSE DESCRIPTION Developmental Counseling Psychology is a course intended to give students a broad overview of human nature/behavior through knowledge of life span developmental theory, personality development, modern and postmodern approaches to the study of human nature/behavior, and learning theory. Throughout the course, close attention will be given to human ecology or those social/historical/cultural/environmental forces furthering or impeding development. The course approaches foundational works of developmental theory through both a chronological and conceptual complexity progression. Rather than examining human development from the perspective of the human life span, this course will follow the evolution of developmental theory itself as it pertains to the human life span. Learning any new field involves learning its vernacular, and thus each class will contain a lesson in language. The semester is divided into four parts: foundations of developmental counseling, theories with a biological-maturation emphasis, theories with a cognitive-structural emphasis, and theories with a social-contextual emphasis. PREREQUISITES There are no prerequisites for this course. This is a core requirement for all HDC students, and it is designed for master’s-level work. TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS Required textbook. Estimated cost ranges are based on prices for used copies found online. Additional readings will be posted in electronic reserves. Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN: 9780674445888. ESTIMATED COST: $12.00–$30.00 Siegel, D.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction to Robert Kegan's Orders of Consciousness
    How Consciousness Develops Adequate Complexity to Deal With a Complex World: The Subject-Object Theory of Robert Kegan Robert Kegan’s (1982, 1994) theory of adult development examines and describes the way humans grow and change over the course of their adult lives. This is a constructive-developmental theory ecause it is concerned both with the construction of an individual’s understanding of reality and with the development of that construction to more complex levels over time. Kegan proposes five distinct stages—or orders of mind—through which people may develop. His theory is based on his ideas of “transformation” to qualitatively different stages of meaning making. Kegan explains that transformation is different thatn learning new information or skills. New information may add to the things a person knows, but transformation changes the way he or she knows those things. Transformation, according to Kegan, is about changing the very form of the meaning-making system – making it more complex, more able to deal with multiple demands and uncertainty. Transformation occurs when someone is newly able to step back and reflect on something and make decisions about it. For Kegan (1994), transformative learning happens when someone changes “not just the way he behaves, not just the way he feels, but the way he knows—not just what he knows, but the way he knows.” (p/ 17) Subject and Object Of vital importance in Kegan’s discussion of transformation is the distinction between that which is Subject and that which is Object. Kegan asserts that aspects of our meaning constructing that are Subject are by definition experienced as invisible, simply a part of the self; these things cannot be seen because they are held internally.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Smith March 25.Pdf
    The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Adult Education THE MEANINGS OF TEACHING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EXEMPLARY AND EXPERIENCED TEACHERS A Dissertation in Adult Education by Janice E. Smith 2011 Janice E. Smith Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education May 2011 ii The dissertation of Janice E. Smith was reviewed and approved* by the following: Patricia A. Cranton Professor of Adult Education Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Edward W. Taylor Professor of Adult Education Denise G. Meister Associate Professor of Education Gina Brelsford Assistant Professor of Psychology Gary Kuhne In Charge of Graduate Programs in Adult Education *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT A qualitative narrative inquiry that explores the meaning of teaching and the development of that meaning throughout the career of exemplary and experienced teachers in kindergarten- through-twelfth-grade (K-12) public schools was conducted. Exemplary teachers were operationalized in this study as any of the 12 teachers chosen each year by the state of Pennsylvania as finalists for Teacher of the Year. The research questions that guided this narrative inquiry are: Which, if any, of Kegan’s (1982, 1994) developmental plateaus can be identified as current or prior meaning-making systems for these exemplary and experienced teachers? What are the current meanings of teaching for these exemplary and experienced teachers? If these meanings have changed, what was the process of change as the meanings of teaching changed throughout their career? Was this process of change developmental? What contextual influences have supported or hindered the teachers’ meaning-making? Literature that explores constructive-developmental theory, connects it to adult education, and advocates a context for learning with an appropriate mix of challenge and support is reviewed.
    [Show full text]
  • Gauthier. Integrally Informed Approaches
    INTEGRALLY-INFORMED APPROACHES TO TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Alain Gauthier & Marilyn Fowler Conference Paper Integral Theory in Action: Serving Self, Community and Kosmos August 7-10, 2008 INTEGRALLY-INFORMED APPROACHES TO TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Alain Gauthier & Marilyn Fowler Abstract This paper summarizes the key findings, interpretations and questions that result from a nine-month exploratory study of the emerging field of ‘generative change leader development’, and presents key components of an integrally-informed approach to developing deep- capacity leaders able to effect transformational change at organizational and societal levels. The study was based on interviews with observers of the field and program directors on five continents, as well as on analyses of websites, articles, and books. It benefits from the extensive experience that the research team gathered in decades of founding and leading diverse leadership networks as well as educational and training programs. While keeping in mind the larger leadership development field, we focused our exploration on medium to long-term development programs for what we call ‘generative’ change leaders who work in and across the public, business and civil society sectors. We used two additional criteria for selecting programs: they must integrate the personal, interpersonal and systemic dimensions of change, and do so in service of individual, organizational and societal transformation to effectively address humanity’s increasingly complex economic, political, social and environmental challenges. The leadership development approach presented in this paper is framed from a consciousness perspective based on the work of prominent integral theorists, including Bill Torbert, Robert Kegan, Susanne Cook-Greuter and Ken Wilber, and informed by our ten years of experience and research working with this kind of educational content at John F.
    [Show full text]
  • Developmental Psychology: from Moral Theology to Spirituality
    DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: FROM MORAL THEOLOGY TO SPIRITUALITY Once kissing cousins, moral theology and spirituality have been separated within the Church for at least four centuries. Recent decades have seen various attempts to reunite them: focus on their common scriptural foundation, for ex- ample, has been particularly promising. One of the most helpful academic con- tributions to the reunion effort has come from developmental psychology. Moral theologians interested in the dynamics of conscience were first attracted to Erik Erikson's psychosocial approach to the life cycle and then to Lawrence Kohl- berg's cognitive-structural theory of moral development. Writers on the spiritual life have also found important resources in Erikson and Kohlberg, especially as their approaches have been focused on faith in the work of James Fowler.1 If the major contribution to moral theology has been the very idea of development, spir- ituality, which has always appreciated development, has benefited most from a specification of development that clarifies the nature of the self that is developing as both autonomous and relational. We want to suggest here that the introduction of developmental psychology into either moral theology or spirituality expands their horizons and leads to their integration into one theology of the Christian life. Something like this has already happened within developmental psychology itself: Erikson eventually specified his life cycle in terms of moral development; Kohlberg, realizing that moral rea- soning could not answer the question, "Why be moral?," added a seventh reli- gious stage to his six moral stages; and Fowler integrated Kohlberg's moral reasoning into his developmental analysis of faith from the very beginning.
    [Show full text]
  • A Theoretical Integration of Robert Kegan's Developmental Psychology and Heinz Kohut's Self Psychology
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 8-1990 A Theoretical Integration of Robert Kegan's Developmental Psychology and Heinz Kohut's Self Psychology Wilmar VanderPol Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Developmental Psychology Commons Recommended Citation VanderPol, Wilmar, "A Theoretical Integration of Robert Kegan's Developmental Psychology and Heinz Kohut's Self Psychology" (1990). Dissertations. 3251. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/3251 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A THEORETICAL INTEGRATION OF ROBERT KEGAN'S DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY ANO HEINZ KOHUT'S SELF PSYCHOLOGY by Wilmar VanderPol A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 1990 A THEORETICAL INTEGRATION OF ROBERT KEGAN'S DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY AND HEINZ KOHUT'S SELF PSYCHOLOGY Wilmar VanderPol, Ed.D. Western Michigan University, 1990 Theory and research about psychological development tends to be dichotomized into two broad approaches that have never been inte­ grated. The one is Piagetian-based cognitive-developmentalism, and the other is Freudian-based psychoanalytic developmentalism. The first predominates in academic research and application and the sec­ ond in clinical research and therapy. This dissertation is a theo­ retical integration of the Piagetian-based theory of Robert Kegan with the Freudian-based theory of Heinz Kohut known as self psychol­ ogy.
    [Show full text]
  • Positive Psychology and Constructivist Developmental Psychology
    POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTIVIST DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: A THEORETICAL ENQUIRY INTO HOW A DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE CONCEPTION MIGHT PROVIDE FURTHER INSIGHTS INTO SPECIFIC AREAS OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY by Paul Marshall A dissertation presented to the University of East London in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Applied Positive Psychology School of Psychology University of East London January 2009 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the constant support, encouragement and open-mindedness of Dr. Ilona Boniwell, the creator and leader of this Msc degree. From the start Dr. Boniwell showed interest in my developmental perspective on positive psychology and encouraged me to pursue my theoretical orientation. I feel deep gratitude towards her for this. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Nash Popovic, my dissertation supervisor. His conceptual guidance and structural assistance greatly helped the unfolding of this dissertation. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……....……………………………………………… 1 ABSTRACT …..………….………………………………………………………. 3 1. INTRODUCTION: TIME FOR A VERTICAL DIMENSION IN POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY? ……………………………………………………………..…. 4 2. CONSTRUCTIVIST DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: A LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………………………………. 9 3. CONSTRUCTIVIST DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE PARADIGM ……….…………………… 24 4. STAGE DEVELOPMENT AND INDIVIDUAL CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF WELL-BEING …………………………….……………………………….... 40 5. STAGE DEVELOPMENT AND VALUES
    [Show full text]
  • Erik and Joan Eriksons' Approach to Human Development in Counseling
    CH07.qxd 12/21/07 4:44 PM Page 199 CHAPTER SEVEN ✺ Erik and Joan Eriksons’ Approach to Human Development in Counseling Michael J. Karcher and Kristine Benne oan and Erik Erikson developed a theory of human development that Jcharts stage-wise progression in the social, emotional, and cog- nitive skills that individuals use in their relationships with significant others across the lifespan. Initially, this theory was referred to as a bio-psycho-social theory of human development, but over time and across their careers of writing about human growth, the Eriksons placed more emphasis on charting how individuals manage interpersonal tasks and demands than on the biology of Freud’s drive psychology that served as the initial impetus for the model. In fact, the biological dimension of the theory, drawn in part from Freud’s model and from the ways in which physiological maturation affects the demands and tasks placed upon individuals, has been the least referenced component of the the- ory. Instead, the psychological and social constructs have come to sig- nify the theory and most directly reveal its use in counseling. Best known are the key constructs of industry, identity, and gener- ativity. Yet these constructs, at least as descriptions of individuals’ behaviors and beliefs, belie that this is a theory about social as much as psychological development. The theory addresses the psychosocial demands placed upon us and our development in response to changing interpersonal situations from birth to death, all of which are embed- ded in relationships with significant others. Therefore this theory, when 199 CH07.qxd 12/21/07 4:44 PM Page 200 200 CHAPTER SEVEN ABOUT THE CHAPTER AUTHORS Michael Karcher In 1994 I was living in Boston, working as a school counselor trainee at Curley Middle School in Roxbury, and reading devel- opmental theory with a passion.
    [Show full text]