Preface
I preface this article by saying that my comprehension of the science of developmental psychology is limited. I am far more interested in what will happen during the next thousand years and in what already happened three thousand years ago than I am in which papers were published last month. Thus, if you find flaws in my explanation of developmental psychology I will appreciate your dissonance.
Introduction
The concept of developmental psychology is that people change their ability to think as they mature. Piaget was one of the first to document this in childhood development. Since then this branch of psychology has waxed and waned. The authors that I found most helpful when I studied this field are Piaget, Erikson and Kegan (Jean Piaget; Structuralism; Harper & Row; 1970; ISBN; 06-131610-5. Erik H. Erikson; Identity and the Life Cycle; W. W. Norton; 1980; ISBN 0-393-00949-1. Robert Kegan; The Evolving Self; Harvard University Press; 1982; ISBN 0-674-27231-5.). The table, shown below, is a summary of what I learned with an extension. I added the column labeled “Focus” to highlight the social aspects.
| For the remainder of this article I presume you have an understanding of the history described in the Christian Bible. If you are not familiar with that work, I suggest you see the points that I try to make here and then go to the ancient text that you are the most familiar with and see if you can find the same patterns there. Remember, this article is about human psychology, not religion. It just happens that the Christian Bible is the specific longitudinal study of human behavior that I understand best. |
The Past
Stage 0—Incorporative. Consider the story of Adam and Eve. Then consider the story of Cain and Abel. Do any of those four people attempt to shield or protect any of the others? When confronted on their actions all of these people try to shift the blame to each other. Their behavior is self-focused. They do not yet display the behaviors we expect from responsible adults.
Stage 1—Impulsive. Notice the implied shift once we reach the story of Noah. Noah has enough understanding of family ties to collect his family and herd them into the boat along with the cows and goats. And yet, is there any evidence that Noah made any appeal to God to save any of his friends or neighbors?
Stage 2—Imperial. We tend to live in the Imperial stage during our youth. We climb over our parents so that we can be satisfied and only slowly learn to be considerate of the well being of those same parents. At this age we recognize not only family but we also have concerns for a network of social contacts. Consider the story of the visitors who came to Sodom to see Lot. The men of Sodom wanted to harm the visitors. Lot had compassion for these visitors and offered to let the men of the city have his daughters if they would leave the visitors alone. Lot extended his concept of family to a broader circle. We learn to care for our brothers and sisters and in Stage 2 we are occasionally willing to intervene on their behalf.
Stage 3 — Interpersonal. Stage three is where we spend most of our teen years. We become intently loyal to our favorite team, to our school or to our club. We love competition with other schools or teams or clubs. Occasionally we might collaborate with a rival club but only if we can find some goal that allows us to make sense of the collaboration. Consider the relationships between the tribes of Israel and their neighbors as they followed Moses. Collaboration was despised and in nearly every situation in which it occurred we are told that it led to adverse consequences. People negotiated treaties under false pretenses. People’s lives were spared only to become the cause of ferment years later. This is a time of us versus them with clear demarcations as to who is one of us and who is one of them.
Stage 4– Institutional. In the USA today many people never grow past Stage 3. When someone reaches Stage 4 they begin to value roles. I, for example, have a role in my church choir, a role as a Deacon, a role on various committees, a role in my job and an occasional role as a social being. Roles lead us to organizational structures as we use our roles to define who we are. You can identify Stage 4 when there is awkwardness if you encounter someone in a cross-cultural situation. For example, if you meet a work friend in an unexpected social setting you might find that the personality you know from work is altered as the work role and the social role are distinct. Solomon was the person to bring organizational structure to Israel. Note that I believe Solomon went beyond Stage 4 but what I find significant is that he was able to organize the enlarged country into a somewhat cohesive whole. The structures that Solomon gave Israel were Stage 4 structures. Few of the kings that followed him understood those structures.
Stage 5 — Inter-Individual. One of the problems that the early Christian church encountered was how to integrate the diverse people who were coming to their faith. In Stage 3 you are either exactly like us or you cannot be one of us. The early Christians debated which foods to eat and which customs to follow. Teenage girls use their social structure to define which music is good and which is bad. That is Stage 3. The early Christians then dealt with Stage 4 issues and had to create an organizational structure and define roles. Stephen was chosen as one of the first leaders who was not an apostle. The next issue the church faced was that of integrating diverse cultures into one body. Stephen worked to ensure that all of the diverse cultures were treated equitably. Today we seldom see Stage 5. Politicians learn how to play different roles in each setting they encounter and thus demonstrate Stage 4. Statesmen are different. One of the key factors that distinguishes statesmen is their ability to bridge cultures and balance their concern for each constituency simultaneously.
Stage 6 — Integrated. Paul describes his life as a series of roles in which he fit into each of the Stage 3 cultures that he encountered. And yet Paul, from the time he began his mission until he reached his death was one integrated whole. I believe there are others in the Bible who also reached Stage 6 or even beyond. The significance about Paul is that he used his perspective as an integrated person to define the organizational structure that he envisioned for his diverse flocks.
And with that I am moving onto the next topic. I welcome your dissonance regarding this brief summary, but right now it is more important to put this tool to use than it is to examine it’s inner mechanisms.
The Present
Piaget documented behaviors that indicate shifts in mental thought patterns. Others have reproduced his results and others have repudiated his results. Those are interesting distracters. I suggest you judge for yourself. Does a three year old have the ability to understand teams? Do teenagers get embedded into peer groups to which they must conform? Do you observe people speak as if they belong to one group and later see them saying things that are quite different when you find them in another setting?
Do you know people who seem capable of balancing the conflicting demands of multiple roles? Does that seem to be a common skill or is that rare? Have you encountered someone who seems consistent through all the different settings and roles you see them play? How many people do you know who can do that across all settings, through the good and the bad? Stages 5 and 6 are rare.
But occasionally someone with a vision from Stage 5 or 6 leads us forward into a behavior that we might otherwise find alien. George Marshall led the United States into a rebuilding effort for the nations that had been devastated in World War II. William Penn, in the 1600s, was one of the first to call for a unified Europe with the purpose of ending war (William Penn; The Peace of Europe: The Fruits of Solitude and Other Writing by William Penn; J. M. Dent & Sons; 1905). In the late twentieth-century that four hundred year old vision began to take shape. Yet, even today, that vision does not make sense to the majority. And the concept of a world organization is still so alien to many that the survival of the United Nations is occasionally in peril.
The Future
If the Christian Bible provides evidence that social evolution is underway then we should expect to see social evolution continue. Our societies will begin to implement more and more Stage 5 structures. And, occasionally, a Stage 6 concept will gain backing. The challenge is to do this intentionally.
Young children have the ability to sporadically align their wills with their parents wills. Teens have a remarkable ability to align their wills and often turn up at events wearing almost identical outfits. Adults are skilled at forming political parties, unions, social clubs and churches so that those from the same culture can share resources. On occasion an entire nation or a group of nations agrees to act cohesively towards some greater good. We know how to align our wills. The goal is to do this intentionally.
As we become more adapt at building social structures we become better at enlarging those structures. The circle of friends for a child is restricted and even aunts and uncles can be forgotten if they are gone too long. The circle of friends for a teen is enlarged and they learn to act together in the hundreds. Adults know how to organize thousands and occasionally millions. But we cannot align those masses on anything other than the most narrow goals. What we need to do is to learn how to align humanity, as a whole. And we need to do that intentionally.