Jane Loevinger and Her Theory of Ego Development Essay

Human information is a fascinating subject. Psychologists have big studied the recurrent patterns of how humans erupt physic every last(predicate)y, emotionally, and mentally. If psychologists give the bounce find patters, then they hind end begin to predict way and disc everywhere how and wherefore muckle behave the vogue they do. Many theories have been put onward to discipline to explain well-nigh of the consistencies people go through as they develop. Jane Loevinger is 1 of those nurtureal theorists. Her surmisal of self-importance development has been a important contri unlession to the psychological world.Loevinger was born in 1918. She grew up in Minnesota as the daughter of a lawyer and homemaker. Her home was comfortable, but non full of a lot of love. by and by finishing her undergraduate and masters degree at the University of Minnesota, she ended up at the University of California. there she was a interrogation assistant for Erik Erikson. She learn ed a immense deal during this time astir(predicate) her make pretendings and beliefs astir(predicate) psychology (www. webster. edu). In 1943 she sunk her PhD dissertation on the construction and rating of tests of ability.Her critique of test reliability make her no friends in the psychometric world, and publishings refused to make her work. She ended up paying for the publication herself. After finishing her dissertation, Loevinger quit operative full time to have her deuce babyren. During this time she felt the guilt and crush all moms feel. Working moms feel abominable for all the time they spend remote from their children, and stay-at-home moms feel guilty for not doing anything professionally. She similarly felt discriminated against because of her gender.After running(a) in unfulfilling part-time jobs, Loevinger finally inflexible to aim back to research. She was one of the eldest psychologists to focus her testing on the demographic of women. She began wor king with a small free radical of women, and crimsontually designed the Sentence closure Test (SCT) which consists of thirty-four open-ended questions that measures self development. This test led her to develop her hypothesis of ego development, which states that a persons ego development follows nine veritable(prenominal) phases (psychology-health. today. com).Loevingers theory of personality asserts that as people grow, they begin to internalize brotherly rules, become less impulsive, and mature in their decision-making processes. The first compass point of development is the early childhood format. This is the very beginning of development and ego. The sister does not come how to do anything but cry when it needs something. No thoughts ar about anything other than the self. The impulsive stage is similar when a young child wants something, they want it now. They are starting to agnize consequences at this stage, so there is some awareness of others.The self-protect ed stage is when children first exhi points self control. They go through rewards and consequences, and are very actuate by them. The next stage, the conformist stage, is when conform to the group of peers in paramount. There is no identity outside the group, and the disapproval of others is a major problem. Behaviors are judged by what happened, not by the intentions behind them. Finally, in the self-aware stage, there begins to be a bit of maturity. This is when people begin to become individuals. There is more to sustenance than the group, and an inner backbone of self is emerging.The conscientious stage takes those ideas even further. Here the person has goals and ideals, a esthesis of responsibility, and feels guilt not only about breaking a rule, but because of the thought of hurting others. Motives are taken into throwaway as well as actions. During the individual stage, there develops a greater adjustment of other people, as well as an awareness of inner conflict. During this stage, the person result pull away from the group toward a more individual identity. People in the autonomous stage show a great deal of maturity.They worry about their needs verses the duties of their lives, they want self-fulfillment, and they can understand more than one point of view. Finally, the corporate stage is reached when a person richly understands their own identity. She is self-actualizing, and can understand behavior motives and intentions of others as well as herself. season not all people willing be able to reach this experience stage of integration, Loevinger shows a road subprogram of how to get there. I feel her developmental theory is meaningful today, because people assuage have inner struggles throughout the mannequin of their lives.When I presuppose about all of my friends and family, I can see which stage they are each in. Loevinger contributed a theory that definitely stands the test of time and is germane(predicate) to people today. I can also look back over my life and see that some decisions I do were direct results of the stage I was in at the time. I feel like I am always attempt to improve myself on the inside, and be a good person on the outside, so I feel I am in the conscientious stage. I know some of my friends who are still in the conformist stage, and this is probably a semen for much of our conflict.I cannot understand why they are so concerned with what others think about them, but it might be simply because they have no maturate past that stage yet. I think most young adults fall somewhere between the conformist and self-aware stages. That is why so many young adults get into trouble they follow the group and filter out drugs or things they would not ordinarily try on their own. The group mentality can be very problematic, and the power it has over young adults is scary. Loevinger contributed a theory of ego development that has made a significant impact on how we understand why we act the w ay we do.Her stages of development behave specific time frames of life and the decisions that many people make during those times. Her theory is germane(predicate) today and still has valid implications for anyone perusing human development. References Womens intellectual contributions to the cogitation of mind and society. Retrieved may 17, 2009, from http//www. webster. edu/woolflm/loevinger. html generator 44. Jane Loevingers theory of ego development. Retrieved May 17, 2009 from http//psychology-health. today. com/2009/03/01/jane-loevingers-theory-of-ego-development/