Jane Loevinger and Her Theory of Ego Development Essay

humane discipline is a fascinating subject. Psychologists have long studied the recurrent patterns of how humans develop physic eachy, emotionally, and psychologically. If psychologists atomic number 50 find patters, then they basis begin to predict behavior and sympathize how and why slew serve the way they do. Many theories have been put forth to try to explain some of the consistencies people go through as they develop. Jane Loevinger is one of those developmental theorists. Her theory of ego development has been a signifi give the sackt portion 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, so far not full of a lot of love. After finishing her undergraduate and skippers degree at the University of Minnesota, she ended up at the University of California. in that location she was a research assist for Erik Erikson. She learned a great deal during this time about(pred icate) her stimulate thoughts and beliefs about psychology (www. webster. edu). In 1943 she finished her PhD dissertation on the construction and evaluation of shields of ability.Her critique of test reliability made her no friends in the psychometric world, and publications refused to publish her work. She ended up paying for the publication herself. After finishing her dissertation, Loevinger vacate working full time to have her two children. During this time she felt the guilt and pressure all moms feel. Working moms feel shamefaced for all the time they spend away from their children, and stay-at-home moms feel guilty for not doing anything professionally. She also felt discriminated against because of her gender.After working in unfulfilling part-time jobs, Loevinger finally decided to postulate back to research. She was one of the first psychologists to focus her testing on the demographic of women. She began working with a downcast class of women, and eventually design ed the Sentence Completion Test (SCT) which consists of thirty-four open-ended questions that measures ego development. This test led her to develop her theory of ego development, which states that a individuals ego development follows nightclub typical phases (psychology-health. today. com).Loevingers theory of personality asserts that as people grow, they begin to internalize social rules, beseem less impulsive, and mature in their decision-making processes. The first stage of development is the infancy stage. This is the very beginning of development and ego. The infant does not know 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 ar starting line to understand consequences at this stage, so there is some awareness of others.The self-protected stage is when children first exhibits self control. They understand rewards and consequen ces, and are very motivated by them. The next stage, the conformist stage, is when conforming 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 extend individuals. There is more to life than the group, and an inner sense of self is emerging.The conscientious stage takes those ideas even further. here the person has goals and ideals, a sense of responsibility, and feels guilt not only about breaking a rule, but because of the thought of hurting others. Motives are taken into account as well as actions. During the individualistic stage, there develops a greater tolerance of other people, as well as an awareness of inner conflict. During this stage, the person will pull away from the group toward a more individual identity. People in the self-reliant 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 integrated stage is reached when a person fully understands their own identity. She is self-actualizing, and can understand behavior motives and intentions of others as well as herself. While not all people will be able to reach this last stage of integration, Loevinger shows a road map of how to add there. I feel her developmental theory is meaningful today, because people still have inner struggles passim the course of their lives.When I think 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 relevant to people today. I can also look back over my life and see that some decisions I made were guide on results of the stage I was in at the time. I feel like I am invariably t rying 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 source 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 matured past that stage yet. I think most young adults fall somewhere in the midst of the conformist and self-aware stages. That is why so many young adults get into trouble they follow the group and try 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 way we do.Her stages of development represent special time frames of life and the decisions that many people make during those times. Her theory is rele vant today and still has legal implications for anyone studying human development. References Womens intellectual contributions to the study of mind and society. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from http//www. webster. edu/woolflm/loevinger. html Writer 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/