Loevinger's stages of ego development

Jane Loevinger
Jane Loevinger
Jane Loevinger Weissman was a developmental psychologist who developed a theory of personality which emphasized the gradual internalization of social rules and the maturing conscience for the origin of personal decisions...

's stages of ego development 'conceptualize a theory of ego development that was based on Erikson

Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson was a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings. He may be most famous for coining the phrase identity crisis. His son, Kai T...

's psychosocial model', as well as on the works of Harry Stack Sullivan

Harry Stack Sullivan

Harry Stack Sullivan was a U.S. psychiatrist whose work in psychoanalysis was based on direct and verifiable observation .-Life and works:Sullivan was a child of Irish immigrants and allegedly grew up in an...

, and in which 'the ego was theorized to mature and evolve through stages across the lifespan as a result of a dynamic interaction between the inner self and the outer environment'. Her theory is significant in contributing to the delineation of ego development, which goes beyond fragmentation of trait psychology and looks at personalities as meaningful wholes.

The nine stages

Loevinger describes the ego as a process, not a thing. The ego is viewed as the frame of reference (or lens) one uses to construct and interpret's one's world. This contains impulse control and character development, with interpersonal relations, and with cognitive preoccupations, including self-concept. Sullivan (1958) 'had proposed four levels of "interpersonal maturity and interpersonal integration": Impulsive, Conformist, Conscientious, and Autonomous'. Developing over time from that initial framework, Loevinger completed a developmental model including nine sequential stages, each of which represents a progressively more complex way of perceiving oneself in relation to the world. Every stage provides a frame of reference to organize and give meaning to experience over the individual's life course. 'Since each new ego stage or frame of reference builds on the previous one and integrates it, no one can skip a stage...One has not yet acquired the interpersonal logic'.

As the adult ego develops, Loevinger considered, a sense of self-awareness emerges in which one becomes aware of discrepancies between conventions and one's own behavior. For some, development reaches a plateau and does not continue. Among others, greater ego integration and differentiation continue. Loevinger proposed eight/nine stages of ego in development, the six which occur in adulthood being conformist, conscientious-conformist, conscientious, individualistic, autonomous, and integrated. The majority of adults are at the conscientious-conformist level.

Presocial stage (E1)

In earliest infancy, a baby cannot differentiate itself from the world and focuses only on gratifying immediate needs. Loevinger believes infants in their earliest state cannot have an ego because their thinking is autistic or delusional. Their ego or 'thinking is characterised by primary process and delusional projection

Projection

Projection, projector, or projective may refer to:* The display of an image by devices such as:** Movie projector** Video projector** Overhead projector** Slide projector** Camera obscura** Projection screen...

', This part of the presocial stage does not last long as it quickly merges into the Symbiotic stage. The ego begins to develop and is it dominated by 'the process of differentiating self from non-self' - from the World

World

World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....

. The infant, once s/he 'has a grasp of the stability of the world of objects, the baby retains a symbiotic relation with his/[her] mother' and begins the association of objects to themselves. For example, a baby will not fall asleep until they have their favourite toy or blankie in the crib with them.

Impulsive stage (E2)

Here the child 'asserts his growing sense of self' and views the world in ego-centric terms. At this stage 'the child is preoccupied with bodily impulses, particularly (age-appropriate) sexual and aggressive ones. ref>Loevinger, p. 16 The child is too immersed in the moment and view the world solely in terms of how things affect them. Their impulses affirm their sense of self however are 'curbed by the environment'. When someone meets there needs they are considered 'good', and if they do not meet their needs they are considered bad - often resulting in impulsive retaliation such s/]he will run away or run home'. Discipline is viewed by the child as restraints, and 'rewards and punishments' are seen as being "Nice to Me" or "Mean to Me". This is because the Child's 'needs and feelings are experienced mostly in bodily modes', and 'the child's orientation at this stage is almost exclusively to the present rather than to past or future'.

Self-Protective stage (E3)

The "Self-Protective" stage represents 'the first step towards self-control of impulses....The Self-Protective person has the notion of blame

Blame

Blame is the act of censuring, holding responsible, making negative statements about an individual or group that their action or actions are socially or morally irresponsible, the opposite of praise. When someone is morally responsible for doing something wrong their action is blameworthy...

, but he externalizes it to other people or to circumstances'. At this level, the child 'craves a morally prescribed, rigidly enforced, unchanging order', and if maintained too long 'an older child or adult who remains here may become opportunistic, deceptive, and preoccupied with control...naive instrumental hedonism '.

While a degree of conceptual cohesion has been reached, morality is essentially a matter of anticipating rewards and punishments, with the motto: "Don’t Get Caught".

Conformist stage (E4)

'Most children around school age...progress to the next stage, conformity'.Persons begin to view themselves and other as conforming to socially approved codes or norms.. Teaching education as adult development. Theory into Practice, 17(3), p. 231 Loevinger describes this stage of having 'the greatest cognitive simplicity. There is a right way and a wrong way and it is the same for everyone...or broad classes of people. One example of groups conforming together at this age is by gender—boys and girls. Here persons are very much invested in belonging to and obtaining the approval of groups. Behaviour is judged externally, not by intentions, and this concept of 'belonging to the group (family or peers) is most valued'.
'the child starts to identify his welfare with that of the group', though for the stage 'to be consolidated, there must be a strong element of trust'. An ability to take in rule

Norm (sociology)

Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...

s of the group

Group (sociology)

In the social sciences a social group can be defined as two or more humans who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and collectively have a sense of unity...

appears, and another's disapproval becomes a sanction, not only fear of punishment

Punishment

Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....

. However rules and norm

Norm (sociology)

s are not yet distinguished.

'While the Conformist likes and trusts other people within his own group, he may define that group narrowly and reject any or all outgroups', and stereotype

Stereotype

A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...

s roles on the principle of ' social desirability: people are what they ought to be'. Behaviour is judged externally, not by intentions, and the concept of 'belonging to the group (family or peers) is most valued'.

Self-aware level (E5)

Loevinger considered the Self-Aware (also known as 'Conscientious-Conformist') Transitional Stage to be 'model for adults in our society', and thought that few pass the stage before at least the age of twenty-five.

The stage is largely characterized by two characteristics: 'an increase in self-awareness and the capacity to imagine multiplepossibilities in situations' ...[was] a stable position in mature life', one marked by the development of 'rudimentary self-awareness and self-criticism': however the closeness of the self to norms and expectation

Expectation

In the case of uncertainty, expectation is what is considered the most likely to happen. An expectation, which is a belief that is centered on the future, may or may not be realistic. A less advantageous result gives rise to the emotion of disappointment. If something happens that is not at all...

s 'reveal the transitional nature of these conceptions, midway between the group stereotypes of the Conformist and the appreciation for individual differences at higher levels'. Loevinger also considered the level to produce 'a deepened interest in interpersonal relations'.

Conscientious stage (I-4)

At progression to 'the conscientious stage...individuals at this level, and even more often at higher levels, refer spontaneously to psychological development'.

By this stage, 'the internalisation of rules is completed', although at the same time 'exceptions and contingencies are recognised'. Goals and ideals are acknowledged, and there is a new sense of responsibility

Moral responsibility

Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...

, with guilt

Guilt

Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...

triggered by hurting another, rather than by breaking rules. 'The tendency to look at things in a broader social context' was offset by a self seen as apart from the group, but also from the other's point of view; as a result 'descriptions of people are more realistic...[with] more complexities'. Standards are self-chosen, and distinguished from manners

Manners

In sociology, manners are the unenforced standards of conduct which demonstrate that a person is proper, polite, and refined. They are like laws in that they codify or set a standard for human behavior, but they are unlike laws in that there is no formal system for punishing transgressions, the...

, just as people are seen in terms of their motives and not just their actions.

The Conscientious subject 'sees life as presenting choices; [s]he holds the origin of his own destiny...aspires to achievement, ad astra per aspera ' but by his or her own standards.

Individualistic level (E7)

During this stage persons demonstrate both a respeact for individuality and interpersonal ties. Loevinger exaplins'To proceed beyond the Conscientious Stage a person must become more tolerant of himself and of others...out of the recognition of individual differences and of complexities of circumstances' developed at the previous level. The individualistic ego shows a broad-minded tolerance of and respect for the autonomy of both self and others. With a new distancing from role identities, 'moralism begins to be replaced by an awareness of inner conflict', while the new stage is also 'marked by a heightened sense of individuality and a concern for emotional dependence'. Subjective experience is opposed to objective reality, inner reality

Reality

In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...

to outward appearance; and 'vivid and personal versions of ideas presented as cliches at lower levels' may emerge.

A growing concern for psychological causality and development will typically go hand in hand with 'greater complexity in conceptions of interpersonal interaction'.

Autonomous stage (E8)

Loevinger termed the next stage "autonomous" 'because it is marked by the freeing of the person from oppressive demands of conscience in the preceding stage'. People at this stage are "snthesizers" and are able to conceptually integrate ideas. The autonomous person also 'recognizes the limitations to autonomy, that emotional interdependence is inevitable'. The stage might also see a 'confrontation with the limitations of abilities and roles as part of deepening self-acceptance'.

'Self-fulfillment becomes a frequent goal, partly supplanting achievement', while there may well be a wider 'capacity to acknowledge and to cope with inner conflicts', such as between needs and duties.

'A high toleration for ambiguity...[and ] conceptual complexity' - the capacity to embrace Polarity, Complexity

Complexity

In general usage, complexity tends to be used to characterize something with many parts in intricate arrangement. The study of these complex linkages is the main goal of complex systems theory. In science there are at this time a number of approaches to characterizing complexity, many of which are...

, Multiple Facets, and to integrate ideas - is a further feature of the Autonomous Stage, as too is the expression of 'respect for other people's need for autonomy in clear terms'.

Integrated stage (E9)

According to Loevinger, this is a rare stage to attain. At the integrated stage, 'learning is understood as unavoidable...the unattainable is renounced'. The ego shows wisdom, broad empathy towards oneself and other, and a capacity to not just be aware of inner conflicts like the individualistic ego or tolerate inner conflicts like the autonomous ego, but reconcile and make peace with those issues. This 'Reconciling inner conflicts...cherishing of individuality' are key elements of its Self-Actualizing nature, along with a fully worked-out identity which includes 'reconciliation to one's destiny'.

Criticism

Some have maintained that 'in general, Loevinger's model suffers from a lack of clinical grounding', and that arguably 'like Kohlberg's theory...it confuses content and structure'. Based as her research was on the assesment of verbalised material, because 'the measure focuses so heavily on conscious verbal responses, it does not discriminate intelligent, liberal people with severe ego defects from those who actually are quite integrated'.

Nevertheless the wide extent of her research must give a certain weight to her findings. 'Loevinger's (1976) model of development is derived entirely from empirical research using her sentence completion test...The manuals contain hundreds of actual completions, organized by exemplary categories'.