A Comparison of the Evolution of Men's and Women's Dreams in Daniel Levinson's Theory of Adult Development

This article examines an important difference in the adult development of men and women never stated by Levinson, but implicit in his two books, The Seasons of a Man's Life (1978) and The Seasons of a Woman's Life (1996). The task of forming a Dream that generated a sense of vitality and excitement was central to Levinson's adult development theory in his book on men. Often occupational in nature, the men's Dreams were usually formed in their late teens and 20s. Yet, careful examination of the interviews in Levinson's last book reveals a dearth of vitalizing Dreams among his women subjects, including the career women, during the same period: None had long-term career goals and nearly all gave precedence to marriage and family. Development of individualistic animating Dreams was complicated by this a priori commitment, and usually delayed until the women's Age 30 Transitions (28–33), often provoking crisis then and subsequent instability.     

The Adult Self: Process and Paradox

This paper defines the adult self as an identity-in-a-mutuality-of-relating, a reality that is at once a process and a paradox. As an identity-in-a-mutuality-of-relating this self has 5 characteristics, each of which is also a process and a paradox: it is a body-self; it is rooted and disclosed in feeling; it is a felt sense of depth; it has its own clear boundaries and exists in intimacy; and it is its own responsible process of experiencing. The fullness of the adult self lies in self-actualization and self-reflection, and here this self is most a process and most a paradox.     

Student Changes, Program Influences, and Adult Development in One Program of Counselor Training: An Exploratory Inductive Inquiry

This qualitative study explored how students in 1 program changed as a result of their professional preparation experience. We interviewed 15 counseling students via one-to-one interviews and a focus group. Students were asked how they had changed and what had influenced those changes in their educational experience. Responses were clustered with the assistance of a text analysis computer program. Three broad change themes were named (1) increased reflexivity, (2) increased autonomy, and (3) capacity for dialogue. Four program influences were also identified. They are providing students with (1) experiences in social construction of knowledge, (2) experiential learning, (3) opportunities for independent thinking, and (4) a supportive environment. Connections to adult-development themes and specific instructional strategies that are suggested by the data are named.     

The Role of the Child in Adult Development

This paper provides theoretical and empirical support for the view that children play a large and often underappreciated role in adult development. Fifty parents and teachers were asked to discuss occasions when they learned something valuable from a child or when a child changed them in some significant way. Adults reported that children can cause them to (a) shift their values or priorities, (b) integrate memories or experiences previously disowned or repressed, (c) become more creative and cognitively flexible, or (d) look at the world with more wonder, awe, or curiosity. Werner's concept of genetic stratification (H. Werner, 1957) and Labouvie-Vief, Chiodo, Goguen, Diehl, and Orwoll's concept of dynamic intersubjectivity (G. Labouvie-Vief, L. M. Chiodo, L. A. Goquen, M. Diehl, & L. Orwoll, 1995) are used to explain the results.     

Assessing Intellectual Development: Three Approaches, One Sequence

In this paper, I compare three developmental assessment systems, employed to score a set of 152 interviews of engineering students: the Perry Scoring System (W. G. Perry, 1970), the Hierarchical Complexity Scoring System (T. L. Dawson, 2004, 1/31/03), and the Lexical Abstraction Assessment System (LAAS; T. L. Dawson & M. Wilson, in press). Overall, the Hierarchical Complexity Scoring System and Perry Scoring System agree with one another within the parameters of interrater agreement commonly reported for either one of the systems, and the Perry system and the LAAS agree with one another about as well as the LAAS and the Hierarchical Complexity Scoring System, upon which the LAAS is based.     

成人言语输入对儿童早期单词获得影响的个案追踪

追踪观察一名婴儿(6~20个月), 分析其中看护者的言语输入特征及婴儿早期词汇获得的发展变化。主要对成人言语输入中动、名词比例、单词在句中的位置、具体环境等因素及婴儿早期动、名词理解和产生等方面进行探讨。结果显示, 成人言语输入中动词比例显著高于名词, 更多动词位于句首或句尾使得主语和宾语省略; 同时, 这种动词优势的输入特征促进儿童早期动词获得, 使得婴儿早期语言样本中动、名词理解相对比例与成人言语输入一致。这一结果表明, 婴儿词汇发展初期就已经利用言语或社会线索, 同时这种早期词汇组成中较高的动词比例进一步支持“名词优势”理论存在跨语言差异     

Ambiguity and the dialogical self: In search for a dialogical psychology

Abstract

It is intuitively felt that ambiguity plays a crucial role in human beings' everyday life and in psychologists' theoretical and applied work. However, ambiguity remains essentially non-problematised in psychological science since its foundation. This article analyses positivist and social constructionist perspectives on ambiguity in the context of their epistemological and ontological fundamental assumptions. The relational thesis of social constructionism is further analysed and it is argued that it constitutes a “weak thesis” concerning the relational constitution of human beings. In the second part, a dialogical alternative is elaborated. In this perspective, ambiguity is placed in the context of relationship and both are brought to an ontological ground. Therefore, it is argued, ambiguity is a fundamental property of human experience and plays a fundamental role in the constitution of (inter)subjective processes. The impact of this thesis on dialogical perspective on self is elaborated.     

Narrative competence and constructive developmental theory: A proposal for rewriting theBildungsroman in the postmodern world

Some of the chief characteristics of the narrative psychology of Bruner, Polkinghorne, Sarbin, Freeman, Howard, and White and Epston are outlined with implications for therapy discussed. Narrative psychology is then related to some current models of adult development, including those of Kegan, Perry, Belenky, Labouvie-Vief, Levinson, Basseches, and Pascual-Leone. Types of narrative competence are discussed and an argument is made that developmental readiness for narrative must be considered if narrative approaches are going to be applied. Different types of narrative approaches are shown to be indicative of particular developmental stages. The social relativism of narrative psychology is addressed and it is argued that developmental models provide a scheme for assessing the maturity of alternative narrative constructions.     

Choices in Life: A Clinical Tool for Facilitating Midlife Review

A critical developmental task of midlife involves reviewing one's past as well as preparing for one's future. The ability to identify past choices, task responsibility for them, and utilize developing patterns in future decision making is seen as a critical component of continued adult development. The Choicemap offers a structured clinical tool to guide such a midlife review. Engaging in this process assists adults in developing choicemaking skills, and provides a powerful clinical intervention.     

Adult self-image and well-being after testicular cancer: The role of agency and meaning

Objective: Cancer during young adulthood can limit the extent to which one adopts an adult self-image. However, the relationship of adult self-image to cancer-related adjustment remains unexplored. The current study examines relationships of adult self-image and social/emotional well-being and job-related problems in young testicular cancer survivors. Factors thought to facilitate future-oriented goals (i.e. agency and meaning) are examined as intermediary processes.

Design: Testicular cancer survivors (N = 171) between the ages of 18 and 29 completed questionnaire measures of adult self-image, agency, sense of meaning and indicators of adjustment.

Main Outcome Measures: Social and emotional well-being were measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General. Job problems were assessed using the EORTC’s testicular cancer supplement (EORTC QLQ-TC26).

Results: Path model results revealed direct associations of survivors’ adult self-image with social (β = .20, p < .05), but not emotional well-being (β = .14, p < .01). Both agency and meaning mediated the relationship of adult self-image and well-being indicators. Finally, the relationship between adult self-image and job problems was only significant for those who were employed or in school (β = ?.19, p < .05).

Outcomes: Assessment of adult self-image might be useful in identifying risk for poor adjustment. Interventions that target agency and meaning might facilitate developmental goals.     

Empowering Change Agents: Youth Organizing Groups as Sites for Sociopolitical Development

In addition to social action campaigns, some youth organizing groups provide formative learning experiences which engage youth in relevant sociopolitical issues through critical approaches. These groups support sociopolitical development (SPD), a self and socially‐oriented process which influences youth personally, politically, and professionally into adulthood. This study explored how youth organizing experiences influenced SPD in the professional domain, applying an empowerment lens. Phenomenologically‐based interviews were conducted with former sexual health education youth organizers and adult program staff. Former youth participants chose socially‐oriented career paths influenced by the group's empowering approach to sexual health education and advocacy. They related meaningful sociopolitical learning experiences (e.g., interpersonal, educational, and civic engagement) to empowerment outcomes (e.g., political efficacy, critical awareness, and participatory behaviors) which informed career decisions. Professionally, participants sought to empower others as the group empowered them, drawing upon youth organizing social and human capital as they worked toward this aim. Combining sociopolitical and empowerment theorizing, the study adds to what is known about how purposefully designed youth organizing experiences support long‐term development outcomes for individuals. Viewed as socially‐oriented career development sites, youth organizing groups build capacity for social change beyond the groups themselves. Implications for youth organizing scholars and practitioners are provided.     

Renegotiating Sexuality Following an Acquired Disability: Best Practices for Counselors

Acquired physical disabilities are a critical issue that confronts many adults today, and they are projected to continue to increase over the next several years. For many individuals with acquired physical disabilities, the disabilities affect sexuality, thus requiring a renegotiation of disability and sexuality. This article reviews the extant literature on physical disabilities and sexuality and provides best practices for counselors to effectively address the needs of this growing population.     

Introduction: Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, Part I

This article describes the purpose of the 3-part Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, and the contents of Part I. Developing individuals express their belief that spirituality plays a key role in their development, yet developmental psychologists have given comparatively little attention to this factor. The concept of spirituality is seldom considered separately from that of religion. The purpose of this Special Issue is to begin to remedy this neglect. This introduction is a summary of the 6 empirical and theoretical articles that form Part I.     

Introduction: Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, Part II

This article reviews the purpose of the 3-part Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, described in the Introduction to Special Issue Part I (J. D. Sinnott, 2000). It also outlines the contents of Part II. Developing adults express their belief that spirituality plays a key role in their development, yet developmental psychologists have given comparatively little attention to this factor. Also the concept of spirituality has seldom been considered separately from that of religion. The purpose of this special issue is to begin to remedy this neglect. This introduction is a summary of the 7 empirical and theoretical articles that form Part II of the Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development.     

Development of Community Psychology

The growth and development of community psychology in Zambia has been necessitated by many social problems encountered by Zambians be they health, economic or psychological. The work of governmental and nongovernmental organizations at community level has contributed to the development of this sub-field of psychology. Community psychology in Zambia has many challenges to overcome, including the lack of trained manpower and availability of funds. Community psychology has great potential to contribute to the wellbeing of different communities in Zambia.