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  • This dissertation focused on optimal development in adulthood, in particular how such development was conceptualized in the personality theories of Maslow (1954/1970) and Loevinger (1976). Loevinger's theory of ego development mapped the entire developmental spectrum into nine stages and likened the highest stages to self-actualization. Past research has shown that the majority of adults fail to achieve the most advanced stages of personality development. This study is concerned with how exceptional development to the most advanced stages, postconventional ego development, unfolds, focusing on the nature of such development and its assessment. Loevinger's assessment instrument, the Washington University Sentence Completion Test, was used to find 22 participants, who, on a scale of 1 to 9, all scored at stage 7 or above. Written narratives and semistructured interviews with the participants inquired into the developmental pathways, including the participants' own views about what constitutes optimal development and about life-changing activities and values. The transcribed interview materials were analyzed using grounded theory procedures as delineated by Strauss and Corbin (1990) and holistic narrative analysis (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998). The findings demonstrate that persons at postconventional stages of development define development and talk about their growth in significantly different ways than persons in the conventional tier of development. Postconventional participants evidenced greater complexity in their narratives. Furthermore, they valued growth, joined discourse communities, and took an interest in their inner world. Minor elements that distinguished postconventional participants from those scoring in the conventional range included giftedness, unconventionality, and cross-cultural exposure. No single factor can be seen as accounting for advanced ego development; instead, a complex interaction of factors seems to be required to advance to a stage of development that is not supported by the dominant cultural norms. The author demonstrates that Loevinger's instrument with recent additions by Cook-Greuter (1999) shows limited validity, and an unequivocal acceptance of this instrument for the assessment of higher development cannot be supported. The findings are placed in the context of the existing literature, and possible future directions for the exploration of this subject matter are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

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