Summary Of The Evolving Self By Robert Kegan

In the early 20th-century, interest in the field of child development emerged. Researchers and theorists studied the ways in which children grew, learned, and, in some instances, were shaped by societal influences (Weiland, 1993). The study of child development enables us to appreciate and understand the social, emotional, physical, educational, and cognitive growth that children go through from birth to early adulthood. Grand theories attempt to organize and arrange concepts and aspects of development using a step approach. Such as that of Erik Erikson’s theory, the Psychosocial Identity Development theory, in which he addresses the development of personal, emotional, and social progression in an individual through stages (Pretorius et al., 2015). Erikson’s model for the approach of development involves the focus of overcoming conflicts that individuals encounter over the span of their childhood that influence their ego identity, or the conscious sense of self that develops and constantly changes due to new experiences and information that is acquired through daily interactions with others and events. In Erikson’s theory, he believed that each person experienced a conflict that served as a defining moment in their development that essentially shaped who they would become later on in life; he believed that unresolved problems of adult life echoed unresolved conflicts of one’s childhood (Berger, 2011).

Feldman’s description of development conforms to Hawkins’ (n.d.) design of the different systems symbolized by his concentric circles regarding the development of a person’s personality. According to Hart (1999), Wilson (2001), and Backus and Chapian (2000) to change the way one thinks it is necessary to effect change in one’s live because thoughts influence how events and other people are perceived. Everyone has different influences in their lives, from families to beliefs to economic situations; therefore, each person is a distinct and unique individual.

This theory attempts to explain why individuals who have had a rough or neglectful childhood have trouble adjusting in adult life, or why adolescents who had trouble finding and identity have issues later in life (Erikson, 1994). This theory helps therapists to ask more key questions about developmental stages and how the patient adjusted to each one (Mummendey, 1999). For example, If the patient was not able to establish a healthy identity then the therapist can identify what was in the way of the formation (Mummendey, 1999).

As stages in psychological development have been defined by Freud, stages in moral development have been outlined by early educators Jean Piaget and Kohlberg, who put forth differing views on the moral development of children. Piaget theorized that children process morals in stages, first one then the next, with a transition in between. The first stage (from ages 4 to about 7) is referred to as “heteronymous morality”, where children think of rules as constants, that is to say, rules are part of the world’s makeup with no input or possibility of change by people. As children progress from seven to ten years of age, they move from one stage to the next, maintaining some of the traits of the

In regards to key developmental aspects of human growth in my life and as I integrate Erickson’s eight stages of development into my 48 years of life, I found that many of my transitional tasks were delayed, or not developed according to Erickson’s time frame. This might be due to the dysfunctional lifestyle, neglected childhood and promiscuous teenage years I had and it has taken me many years to develop my sense of identity, my sense of intimacy, and to change my behavior (Feldman, 2011). In the argument of Piaget he says that children at the age of three to five years think abstractly and this affects their motor

When an infant arrives in the world they are helpless tiny humans who depend on adults for every need from love, to feeding them. It is amazing how these tiny babies grow into adults able to make decisions and become self-dependent. There are many theories about how children develop and what roles the environment plays, what people affect their lives and how events can shape their personalities. Some of these children have and easy life and some have a harder time making that journey to adulthood.

This essay will demonstrate my understanding of developments which occur at each stage of an individual's life cycle. I will relate these developments to two relevant psychological theories and discuss how an individual's needs must be met to enable them to develop.

I enjoyed learning about Piaget’s beliefs that infants are smart and active learners who adapt to experience. He theorizes there are four distinct periods of cognitive

The readings for week one were Crain (2005) chapter one and Hutchison (2015) chapter one. The Crain (2005) chapter discussed Locke and Rousseau and their contributions to developmental theories. Locke deviated from the previously held beliefs about children as having innate values and innate beliefs by theorizing that the environment can influence the their personality and abilities. Locke believed that instead of treating kids like they have the minds of adults, they actually have minds that are still in the process of forming and are being constantly influenced by external forces (Crain, 2005, p. 7-8). Rousseau proposed stages of development ranging from infancy to adolescence in which children view and experience things as inherently different from adults (Crain, 2005, p. 15-17). Rousseau also believed that children progressed according to an innate and natural course that could not be forced or altered through social conditioning (Crain, 2005, p. 20). Chapter one of Hutchison (2015) discusses the way in which the individuals life can be understood through the unfolding of events and life experiences over time. This is called the “Life Course Perspective” (Hutchison, 2015, p. 7) Those who subscribe to this perspective and apply it to their practice and theories integrate several concepts such as cohorts (the group that an individual belongs to according to the time and place in which they were born), transitions (the changes that occur in an individuals life),

The biological view is a view that Eric Olson does stand for. Looking back at the standard view, Olson claims that the view may claim that persons did not come into the world first as an embryo, but instead as a full developed fetus . Once again, this view contradicts Olson’s views. He believes that people were once an embryo. This brings about his biological viewpoints. Olson claims that people were statistically identical with the fetuses and embryos in their past. Of course, this view would bring about the question as to whether personhood is

Adolescence is considered a difficult time of life and one in which a number of changes occur as the individual achieves a certain integration of different aspects of personality. One approach to the cognitive and emotional transitions made at different times of life is to consider how the changes in, say, adolescence are linked to a continuum of change beginning in childhood and continuing throughout life. Some theorists, such as Piaget, were interested primarily in the transitions of childhood and youth, while others, such as Erikson, saw all of life as a series of transitions and offered a continuum of stages covering all of life.

Four well known theorists each created their own ideas on how children develop mentally and physically, how they learn from others and the conceptual of what they are like when they are first brought into the world. Through research and their own experience, these scientists challenged the current beliefs of their time on two topics: active and reactive development and constant or ever changing development. The philosopher John Locke supported reactive development where children developed completely based on what was happening in their life and growth was constant. In his eyes, society determined how a baby boy or girl would mature and has stages that can provide an advance declaration of their physical and mental growth in the following years.However, the philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau supported active development and ever changing development. To Rousseau, kids progress in how they think and look is set in stages where each stage is not the same as the last. Each theory is based on an angle different from the others that affect the researches questions, processes and interpretation: psychoanalytic, learning, cognitive, contextual and evolutionary.

Studying the Constructive Development Theory (CDT) also provided a foundation to identify where I fit on the spectrum of adult development. Constructive developmental theory is an eye opening explanation of how people make meaning at different stages of consciousness. This theory identifies numerous areas of human development that an individual may be “subject to” or “hold object.” Each phase of development designates twelve specific factors that humans will use to make meaning from. Analyzing how a person’s meaning making or pinpointing the factors they are “subject to” or “hold object,” helps us to define an individual’s Order of Mind. Jennifer Garvey Berger (1999) explains in her guide, Key Concepts for Understanding the Work of Robert Kegan, that “things that are Subject are by definition experienced as unquestioned, simply part of self” (p. 2). For me, this concept revealed that I was subject to my behavior and attitude regarding my personal time management. I considered my lack of

Everyday we are developing no matter our age, but it is how we develop children that will tell a tremendous amount an individual. How a child developments is fundamentally important at a young age as it affects all aspect of their lives once the child matures. Throughout the class, we looked at many theorists during the course of the semester as well as looked at many articles pertaining to the concepts of the development of children. The theorists and articles opened up our minds to a world that we have never seen before and concepts about child development we have never been taught but have seen in the practical work we do every week. What makes humans unique is the ability that we have to interpret the language being used, as Lois Bloom

“Early life experiences impact the person across their lifespan” is conveyed in the Jane Piaget theory ‘Stages of cognitive development’ (1936) and Erik Erikson theory ‘Psychosocial stages’ (1950). Piaget argued that children develop knowledge by constructing their experience and observe with their own ideas about how the thing works.(Burton, L.J., Westen, d. & Kowalski, R.M. 2015) He developed 4 stages of his theory: Sensorimotor Stage, Preoperational Stage, Concrete Operational Stage and Formal Operational Stage. At the same time, Erik Erikson proposed a psychoanalytic theory of psychosocial development comprising eight stages from infancy to adulthood. At every stage, a person will encounter a psychological crisis, the development of