Four Developmental Milestones
W O R K I N G    H Y P O T H E S I S
The meditative ruminations of Kyle Parton
SEARCH BLOG
FOLLOW BLOG
Join 31 other followers

Contact Us

FOUR DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
 6/4/2016 by Kyle Parton
15 minute read
SUMMARY:

What does it mean to psychologically, socially, and spiritually develop? While the question of why we develop remains speculative, the question of how is surprisingly approachable. Within the various fields of human development and contemplative spiritual traditions, we can identify four shared developmental phases. As a general model, we must meet these four criteria to progress to a new developmental stage: mastery, crisis, insight, and catalysis. Examples are given in the context of identity development (who is “me”?) as well as worldview development (specifically, how we read scripture). Applications are explored in the contexts of marketing strategy, coaching/mentoring, and spiritual direction. 

Recommended pregame coffee intake: 4 cups (of 4)
INTRO

Writing this has been complete and inconsolable anguish. Can’t write. Must write. Don’t write. Did write. Wrong write. Rewrite. Lip bite. Post. To begin with, my mind is a rusty iron chariot pulled by four feral horses in four different directions, so getting everything moving in the same direction takes a titanic effort. Factor in my overanalytical and perfectionistic tendencies, and I could easily self-edit this entire blog out of existence. I could self-edit any project into the Void, really. Accordingly, I’ve forced myself to stop and just post it, so please be generous and gracious here.

This post is essentially a beta test of a model that will be included in an upcoming book on mentoring. This is a chance to calibrate it and describe its applications. It’s got a very formal foundation, so I’ve tried my best to strip it of academic paraphernalia and make it palatable. (If you want to keep up with the book and my other undercooked writing projects, please honor my infantile, premature author Facebook page with your esteemed Like. It will probably be 2018-2019, though, before anything significant happens).

Now on to the topic! Developmental scientists tend to study three categories of human development: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial. Integral theorists keep going past such minute human perimeters and study development in at least two other contexts: spiritual (beyond body and mind), and evolutionary or teleological (where is all this heading?). I’m most interested in the last three in this list. By default, that’s what I’m referencing when I use the generalized term “development” here. (As an aside, my favorite author, Ken Wilber, has done revolutionary work in systematically mapping this stuff. If I ever contribute anything of value to the world, it will likely be mere editorial garnish to his work.)

Random Disclaimers:

  ● This post is longer than I intended, so I’ve quarantined nonessential commentary to footnotes in an effort to keep it readable.
  ● It’s easy to perceive talk of “higher” or more “advanced” developmental stages as better or more elite. That’s not my intention. An organ isn’t inherently better than a cell. A cell isn’t inherently better than a molecule. So don’t get defensive here.
  ● Click here for a printable pdf version (9 pages).
  ● I promise future posts will be shorter and easier to digest!


THE FOUR MILESTONES

The intriguing question of what primes developmental changes remains open to speculation. In scientific communities, developmentalists generally credit a tailored combination of genetic, environmental, and sociocultural variables. In religious communities, most western spiritual traditions credit a personal causal agent like the Holy Spirit, while most eastern traditions credit an impersonal causal agent like Karma. Regardless of our approach, human development is rarely a nice, neat, transparent, linear process (so forgive me if I portray it that way). Development is cyclical and four-dimensional, at least. So let’s shy away from the “why?” and focus on the “how?” for a moment.

Four broad developmental phases or milestones[1] emerge in the interdisciplinary dialogue between the various approaches to human development and contemplative spiritual traditions. If we look for them,[2] these phases can be found in any major model of psychosocial and spiritual development (many are linked throughout this post).[3] While the terms and contexts are different in each field, the four broad criteria required to progress are:

Phase 1 – Mastery: First, you’ve been at your current stage long enough that you’ve fully “explored the terrain.” There’s an element of satisfaction to this, because you’ve mapped the territory. Temporary homeostasis is achieved. Your needs are met and you can generally explain the world and your experience from this point of view.

Phase 2 – Crisis: Then you hit a wall. You become aware of limitations. Dissatisfaction sets in. Either your old needs are no longer met or new needs emerge. Your precious homeostasis is lost. You’re no longer able to completely explain the world or your experience from your previous point of view. You don’t know where to go, but you know you can’t stay here. This dissonance culminates in a full-blown crisis. Welcome to the Dark Night of the Soul.

Phase 3 – Insight: Next, you see there’s more available. You have a moment of insight. Maybe you see others operating at the next stage, or maybe the doors are opened firsthand in psychotherapy or a contemplative practice. Either way, you see that your new needs can be met. Homeostasis may be possible again (one day). There are other valid, more comprehensive ways to explain the world and your experience.

Phase 4 – Catalysis: Lastly, you encounter some kind of catalyst. Some kind of “straw” breaks the camel’s back and you completely shift from your current frame of reference. Interestingly enough, catalysts can be negative or positive. They can accelerate change through strong attraction or aversion. It may be a conversation, a book, a conflict, or really anything that definitively triggers your jump up and out of your current perspective. The entire world is new at this point. Now you’ve come full circle and, once again, you’re off to pursue homeostasis and mastery of the new terrain.

This might be a little too vague and simplistic to be believable, so let’s look at two specific examples.


EXAMPLE 1: IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT (WHO IS “ME”?)

Contemplating identity entails more than just pondering the existential plum, “Who am I?”[4] A more comprehensive approach to identity entails asking, “Where do I end, and others begin?” The answer to this question gradually changes as we walk our path—especially if we have a meditative practice. Contemplative practices have a way of gracefully gerrymandering the borders that once rigidly defined self and other. To explore the expansion and evolution of one’s identity, we will use Ken Wilber’s terms. In this context, identity development is the gradual “widening” of one’s self concept through the following stages:

  ● Egocentric (just me)
  ● Ethnocentric (those like me)
  ● Sociocentric (my country or class)
  ● Worldcentric (all people)
  ● Planetcentric (all living beings), and
  ● Cosmoscentric (all reality)

As our identity widens, our sense of self correspondingly expands. Literally, what it means to be “you” transcends what it once entailed. What was once the subject becomes the object.[5]

We can easily illustrate the four developmental phases in one’s identity expansion from egocentric to ethnocentric. As a nice developmental starting point[6] (although there are pre-egoic states), the egocentric me seeks power, status, gratification, and self-preservation at the expense of just about everyone else. I’ll stay at this level (Phase 1) for as long as I can meet my needs and thrive in my environment by acting and thinking from this perspective.

Later on, I’ll make a self-cherishing decision that significantly hurts someone dear to me. In a powerful moment of clarity, I’m faced with the limits of my egocentric outlook (Phase 2). The perspective that helped me survive so well in the past has finally betrayed me. Sincere regret is an infallibly sobering developmental mirror. Don’t dismiss it until you’ve got your money’s worth. I’m deeply unsettled because, although I know I can’t continue to treat others this way, I don’t know how to change.

Next, I experience reorienting insight (Phase 3). I realize that the needs, well-being, and preservation of my tribe are not only real, but they are just as important as my own. These moments can have a number of causes, but they all yield a common result: I gain the ability to perspective-take.[7] I become self-aware of the fact that I’m being egocentric. As my identity widens from just my narrow individualistic self (ego) to those very similar to me (ethno), I start to see value in communal roles, rules, and controls. My identity becomes richer and more comprehensive than it’s ever been before.

Lastly, a catalyst (Phase 4) may be something like a scenario where I see a member of my tribe in need and, for the first time, I delay my own gratification to help them. With that decision, I’ve just stepped up and out of my egocentric identity. The little me has expanded, and the developmental cycle restarts. I’m now in Phase 1 from an ethnocentric perspective (queue Elton John’s Circle of Life). On this same scale, similar but more complex developments can cause my “me” to expand to a sociocentric, worldcentric, planetcentric, and eventually cosmoscentric perspective. However, that’s another story, best told to quietly smoldering incense.

(For those that see this as too abstract and theoretical, take a moment to explore some of the profound contemplative spiritual practices that plunge one directly into the widest contexts of identity [and consciousness], such as Big Mind. As a form of facilitated meditation that can quickly dissolve the perimeters of one’s self concept, many regard this practice as one of the most revolutionary spiritual exercises to emerge in the last several hundred years.)

That’s still a little broad. Let’s look at a more specific (yet even more grandiose) example in the context of worldview development.


EXAMPLE 2: WORLDVIEW DEVELOPMENT (HOW I READ SCRIPTURE)

A more concrete example is the development of worldview structures using the (slightly modified) terms of the eminent anthropologist, Jean Gebser. These structures actually work on two scales: the historical unfolding of humanity’s anthropological worldviews, as well as individual worldview changes over one’s lifespan. These stages are:

  ● Archaic (truth from instinct [primitive])
  ● Magic (truth from symbols)
  ● Mythic (truth from story)
  ● Rational (truth from logic)
  ● Pluralistic (truth from coexisting perspectives), and
  ● Integral (truth from all previous structures, intermeshed)

These terms describe our progression from the Stone Age to the Information Age (macrostructures), and from little bald babies to gray-haired sages (microstructures). Let’s describe a worldview shift from mythic-literal to rational-scientific in the context of how we read scripture (I’m slightly modifying James Fowler’s terms here).

To clarify, we are reading scripture from a mythic-literal worldview when we affirm that Krishna literally lifted Mount Govardhan with his pinky for seven days; Lao-Tzu was literally conceived when his mother gazed upon a falling star; Buddha literally caused the floods to recede and walked on dry land; Muhammad literally split the moon in two; and the sun literally stood still in the sky when Joshua prayed (which would probably kill everything on the planet, unfortunately). There’s really no room for symbolism or mistranslation in the mythic-literal worldview. The story is either completely true as is, or completely false as isn’t.[8]

Jumping in to the example, let’s say I’m reading the Bible from this worldview. With the right help from authority figures, I can map out a pretty consistent framework to explain the universe, pain, purpose, salvation, and everything. Since I take scripture at face value, it’s completely possible to master the text (Phase 1). Over time, I can squeeze my everyday experience (as well as other’s experience!) into this paradigm. I’m more than able to explain the world.

At some point, a tiny crack in my system (and in my confirmation bias[9]) occurs. This may happen because gradually the system required to account for face-value contradictions gets so complex and nonintuitive[10] (e.g. Satan buried dinosaur bones), that it gets wobbly and fractures. Or it may happen in a moment of perspective taking where I see that someone else’s nonliteral interpretation seems to be troublingly valid. If this happens enough, I’ll start to look at my system with slightly different eyes—eyes I’ve never had before.[11] I see that my system works perfectly if I make it work perfectly. But what happens if I stop micromanaging the logic? Will it hold together on its own? These are questions I’ve never asked before. We know our worldview is shifting when we can no longer explain the world as we once could with any intellectual integrity; we know our bias is shifting when we no longer want to. I can expect a full-blown crisis of faith (Phase 2) the moment I get curious about these other seemingly valid approaches. Because my beliefs are still anchored in mythic-literal thought, it will certainly feel like I’m betraying my faith to explore other approaches. What in the world am I supposed to do now? Hello, crisis.

Next, temporary relief may come in the form of a scholar or book that patiently walks me through the other methodologies available. Metaphor. Allegory. Infallibility vs. inerrancy. My guide, my Virgil, holds my white-knuckled hand until I realize (Phase 3) that there are other more objective ways to engage with the text. I clearly see that a different yet valid relationship to the text is possible. Hello, insight.

Lastly, a catalyst (Phase 4) may be something like a conversation with one of my mythic-literal peers where, for the first time, I take the side of a nonliteral explanation. Although I’ve been privately exploring a nonliteral interpretation for a while, I finally come out of the closet and fully embrace the exciting reorientation to a vast new rational-scientific worldview (back to Phase 1). This worldview is the first stage of development that can find salvation through my personal concept of truth, but also allow that others might find salvation through a slightly different perspective (think Vatican II). It intermeshes nicely with worldcentric stages.[12]

With the examples of identity and worldview development in mind, let’s look at how to move forward through these phases.


HOW TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS

Unfortunately, it’s easy to lose momentum and stall in the developmental process. To further complicate it, each phase has its own unique requirements that must be met in order to sustain or rekindle momentum. If we want to move forward (and help others do the same), it helps to recognize what elements are required, and when they are specifically needed. In loose sequence, the main ingredients are education, inspiration, consultation, and motivation.

If I’m stuck in Phase 1 (meaning I haven’t completely formulated my newest identity or worldview just yet), then I need to know more about what’s out there at my current stage. I need education. Exploring new terrain is easiest if you have a map. Furthermore, if I start to stagnate after all my informational needs are met, I need inspiration. I need to be reminded why I want to master this stage in the first place. I need to reconnect with my muses.[13]

Perhaps the easiest place to get stuck is when we hit the wall in Phase 2. Temporary paralysis is a perfectly understandable reaction to seeing that our resources no longer meet the needs of our environment. Once I reach my limits and don’t know where to go from here, I need consultation because the noise and dissonance make it almost impossible to find the next steps (quickly, at least). A proven way to regain our bearings and explore valid options is in talking with a more objective third party, ideally someone who as mastered the territory.

Fortunately, it’s much harder to stagnate at Phase 3 (we finally catch a break!). It’s difficult, but not impossible, to unknow the insight I gained with the help of the consulting party. Realistically, Phase 3 is more of an event than a stage. I see the way forward, but one final step is needed.

To move through the last phase, I need something to compel me to action (in chemistry, a catalyst is that which accelerates the rate of change). I need a lit match dropped into the gasoline. At a fork in the road, I need a catalyst to energize me to take the first steps in my new direction and transcend my current perspective. I need motivation (the actual word would be catalysis, but that doesn’t fit my nifty convention here).

We find ourselves back at Phase 1 after the initial momentum of the catalyst slows. Once the honeymoon is over, I’ll likely need education and inspiration again to keep puttering along.


RECAP

I confess, these examples are caricatures. They are unforgivably simplistic and two-dimensional by any academic standard (but hey, it’s a blog). Shifting to a new developmental stage is a gloriously messy, asymmetrical, slow process. It takes years (often, at least 5) for an adult to move from one stage to the next. This means development is a slow enough continuum that you probably won’t see it unless you’re looking for it. However, these milestones are conveniently easier to spot, so this model can help us make sense of the process in ourselves and in others.

I can actually think of several fields and professions that are compatible with this model, to include the training and education professions, business management, and the broader fields of technology and economics. There is also an (almost) direct parallel to the way Thomas Kuhn outlines the process of paradigm shifts in scientific revolutions. We can even see a comparable (although sequentially different) process in Evelyn Underhill’s seminal work on mysticism, which traces spiritual growth through purgation, illumination, dark night, to unity. But rather than keep this as mere theory, here are three practical applications for this model.


APPLICATIONS FOR MARKETING STRATEGY

This model is immediately useful in the development of marketing strategy (and many other aspects of business, e.g. product development). At some point early on in formulating a strategy, we must engage with the fundamental question of, “What need does this product/service meet?” Because our needs are meaningfully analyzed in the context of our location in the developmental phases outlined here, it may provide a novel perspective to view the product/service through this context. Is this product/service meant to educate, inspire, disrupt, consult, or catalyze the target market? The implications for branding and advertising are immediate and vivid. The branding of a product meant to inspire deserves a much different tone than one meant to disrupt.

Another consideration for marketing strategy is in terms of moving a consumer through the buying cycle. In terms of the transition from casual interest in a product to a purchasing decision, what influence would the consumer’s position in the developmental phases have on their urgency to take action? Someone who is already well-educated and well-inspired may be less likely to quickly buy than one who is in crisis and seeking new resources (although this may be completely reversed in other markets and fields).

We can use this model to enrich basic demographic analysis into a more comprehensive psychographic analysis. In exploring the developmental psychographics of a market, market strategists may also find useful insights into product integration, market expansion, and competitive analysis. In this, market strategists would do well to consider, “Where is my ideal consumer, developmentally?”


APPLICATIONS FOR COACHING/MENTORING

I offer these narrow but usable definitions for coaching and mentoring: A coaching relationship is meant to help the learner develop skills in a very specific field; a mentoring relationship (which may involve coaching) helps the learner develop wisdom—the ability to see how things really work—in a specific field. For instance, I meet with my coach to develop and refine my public speaking skills; I meet with my mentor to explore strategic ways to integrate public speaking into my existing career, as well as note any lessons she learned along her career.

Coaches can use this model to identify “where” a learner is in the developmental process, and then help them discover the resources needed to move forward. It can help pinpoint how far along the learner may be in the process in relation to their specific goals. With that in mind, a coach or mentor can then recognize if the student needs to be educated, inspired, disrupted, consulted, or motivated. This prevents the coach or mentor from trying to motivate (Phase 4) someone who is in crisis (Phase 2), which will actually just intensify their confusion and slow their progress.[14]

As we grow in self-awareness, we can even use this model to self-coach (not a long-term developmental solution, by the way). When we gain the ability to take multiple perspectives, we will see our obstacles from fresh, broader angles. This often allows us to recognize where we may be stuck. Here’s how to do it: When you next sit down to work on the goals you’ve mapped out, self-monitor your reaction to the work. Are you uninspired? Then you need to reconnect with your muses. Are you pulled in a thousand new directions? Then you need to sit down with someone wiser than yourself and talk strategy. Those who can observe self can manage self. As always, use extreme caution in self-diagnosing. If you trust your self-diagnosis too much, you’ll just lead yourself further into a circular maze.


APPLICATIONS FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS/PASTORS

Everything discussed for coaches/mentors also applies here. The difference is that I reference the spiritual direction and pastoral fields as developmental relationships meant to facilitate growth and wisdom in nearly all contexts (where coaching/mentoring is more topical). So in the context of psychosocial and spiritual development, spiritual directors and pastors can use this model to identify where individuals are, what they need to move forward, as well as help them prepare for future needs that may arise. It’s not just the question of “where are they?” but also, “what new needs are arising that they may not even recognize yet?”[15]

It should also be noted that these developmental phases apply to communities (congregations, project teams, etc.) as well as individuals. We move from pseudocommunity, to conflict, to resolution, to authentic community. It’s an understandable impulse to try to keep a group in seemingly harmonious pseudocommunity—especially when many spiritual leaders think of conflict as an indicator of disunity. To be fair, it’s easy to overlook the longitudinal value of fertilizer. However, remaining in pseudocommunity is a glass ceiling, and may actually prevent the full maturation of one’s community.

To summarize, we must realize we cannot simply catalyze (Phase 4) those who are satisfied (Phase 1) and expect them to grow. Not to be too blunt, but this is poking a rock with a cattle prod. To make the analogy even more direct, it’s adding electrical current to something that is grounded. Within Buddhist thought there’s a wonderful term, “skillful means,” that references a teacher’s ability to discern what approach to take with a student, and the realization that this is of a subjective nature. It’s the concept of a good spiritual doctor who recognizes that situational diagnoses warrant situational prescriptions. In this context, spiritual directors and pastors can use this framework to explore and address developmental needs within their particular tradition. For instance, what are the most effective and available educational resources in your tradition? What are the most powerful sources of inspiration? What is the most compassionate way to introduce controlled dissonance? What are the most potent catalysts? As we become skilled in mapping developmental terrain, we become better guides and companions in our role to help others map (and navigate) their specific journey.[16]


CONCLUSION

I have yet to find a model of human development that is incompatible with this approach. As a general use multi-purpose tool of sorts, it’s served me well in many contexts, and I hope it’s something you can use as well. My hope and prayer here is that these examples, references, and ideas pique an increasingly insatiable interest in the more psychosocial, spiritual, and teleological aspects of human development. It’s a remarkably exciting field that is making swift progress in answering my favorite question: What is the ultimate trajectory of human development? (Spoiler alert: Theosis.)

Thank you for reading. I hope this model makes sense. Think back to your last major life change: Can you spot these four milestones? Does it marry up with your experience? Comment and tell me your thoughts!


FREEBIES

  ● Big Mind podcast (Buddhistgeeks)
  ● Dark Night of the Soul (St. John of the Cross)


SQUIRRELS WORTH CHASING

  ● A Theory of Everything (Ken Wilber)
  ● Spiral Dynamics (various sources)
  ● Stages of Faith (James Fowler)
  ● Theosis (various sources)


FOOTNOTES

1. I’m using the terms “phases” and “milestones” interchangeably. The former emphasizes the processes that drive development; the latter emphasizes the events that serve the same purpose. Wave or particle? Depends how you measure it.
2. Dividing human development into phases or periods like these is a social construction: a concept or model that appears sound and obvious to those who accept it, but in actuality is an invention of a particular community or culture.
3. This model also remains sound regardless of developmental influences (e.g. demographics), although such variables will affect the speed of changes.
4. This is a critical, yet misguided, question to ask. A more liberating question is, “What am I?”
5. One of the pillars of integral theory is that each level transcends and includes (never excludes) its previous level. It’s similar to how a brain surgeon “contains” a medical student, who contains a college student, who contains a high school student.
6. Like describing any ongoing cycle, it’s easiest to just jump in somewhere and start. There’s not really a clean beginning.
7. Those committed to lifelong learning likely gain sneak peeks of higher developmental levels early on. While these observations/anomalies may just be filed away for later, they foreshadow future stages and plant the seeds of development. This is often referred to as the ecology of learning. Genuine interest in a topic frequently results in cross-boundary learning, which creates favorable conditions for identity expansion and perspective taking.
8. I will tread lightly here, because it’s almost impossible to critique the mythic-literal structure without deeply offending those who are there (or recently moved from that worldview). This stage is absolutistic in its beliefs, so you will either believe the word exactly as written, or you will face the steep soteriological consequences. It’s all or nothing, story or no story.
9. The pace of our development is directly proportional to our self-awareness of bias.
10. A great indicator of bias: How much cognitive work does it take to explain a complicated experience or data set in terms of our current paradigm? The longer it takes us to shoehorn it into our worldview, the more of a confirmation bias we have—and the less we’re likely using Ockham’s Razor.
11. Transformational learning can result in the sense of being someone new (identity development).
12. As I shift from the mythic to rational worldview structure, I’m seeing new value in deductive reasoning and objective experimentation. I’m growing critical of rigid social hierarchies (which are usually patriarchal—sorry guys) that are built on the mythic worldview, as well as their imperative to conform. I’m ready for scientific truth. As a matter of fact, with enough time and coffee, I can inductively study the scriptures and objectively discover their meaning. And upon this worldview I will write volumes of systematic theology, and the gates of postmodernism shall not prevail against it. What could possibly go wrong? (Oh little scientist—how innocent you are.)
13. It is critical to learn (and relearn) how to tap into our muses. And not just the little cute, affirming Pinterest quotes—the deep ones. The ones that push us through any obstacle. Personally, I am almost completely uninspirable. I’ve had to work very hard to find muses. For complex reasons, my personal muses include Eminem, James Bond movies, and mentoring others (if I see that they’re inspired, my mirror neurons copy/paste this into my experience as well).
14. New needs emerge as we develop. Since I’m narrowly referencing coaching as helping others meet very specific skill needs, I place a bookend on the role of coaching when categorically new needs arise that are well outside the initial scope of the coaching relationship. For instance, as one starts to master public speaking skills, one may discover a desire to write a book or teach. A good coach/mentor knows when to refer a student to someone else who can help them address their new needs.
15. I feel strongly that spiritual directors and pastors should become masters of these developmental phases (or a functionally comparable model). We cannot just encourage people. We cannot just teach. Nor can we only challenge. Nor can we only reform. It’s imperative that we cultivate the wisdom to recognize the right contexts for each of these, lest we unintentionally contribute to delayed or arrested development.
16. It seems many of the pastors I know think it’s the Holy Spirit’s role to be the catalyst, while they are primarily agents of inspiration and consultation. I disagree. The Holy Spirit can fulfill any of these roles. So can pastors.

Staircase photo by Aaron Yeoman.

SHARE THIS POST:
(Refresh page if icons don't display)
Share by: