Based on these various psychoanalytic theorists’ work, a universally observable pattern of human psychological development was identified. There appears to be a broad consensus among the theorists that humans have unconscious emotional needs related to caregivers’ early environments. In infancy, individuals share emotional bonding, attachment, or symbiosis with their mothers, experiencing a mutually dependent relationship for the first year of their lives.

Beyond mainstream psychoanalytic theorists, a similar stage-based theory has been proposed by other theorists, such as Kazimierz Dabrowski’s (1964) Theory of Positive Disintegration. Here, he claimed that psychological growth occurs in a series of disintegrations and reintegration, through which an individual shapes or changes his or her conception of the world. His outlined growth process follows a strikingly similar developmental sequence, as shown in Table 1I that the 5-Stage process described in the proposed model. His Primitive/Primary Integration at Level 1 is characterized by selfishness and egocentrism; the Unilevel Disintegration at Level 2 is characterized by a transitional period in developmental crises; involuntary Spontaneous Multilevel Disintegration at Level 3 is characterized by vertical conflicts; the Directed Multilevel Disintegration at Level 4 is characterized by a deliberate, conscious, and self-directed life; and the Secondary Integration at Level 5 is characterized by an integrated and harmonious visionary character with creative expression and empathy. Together, these levels correspond with the five stages of the proposed model.

Table 1I. Dabrowski’s (1964, 1967) Theory of Positive Disintegration from the 5-Stage framework

Furthermore, cultural mythologist Joseph Campbell (1968, 1988),  in his The Hero with a Thousand Faces, viewed all great mythic narratives as variations of a single great story, or a mono-myth, of individual development. It is similar to the proposed model, where a common pattern is discerned, regardless of the origin or time of creating the myths. In his interview with Bill Moyers, Campbell (1988) states:

The stages of human development are the same today as they were in ancient times. As a child, you are brought up in a world of discipline and obedience and dependent on others. All this has to be transcended when you come to maturity so that you can live not in dependency but with self-responsible authority. If you can’t cross that threshold, you have the basis for neurosis. (p. 70)

He further claims that all myths deal with “the maturation of the individual, from dependency through adulthood, through maturity, and then to exit, and then how to relate to this society and how to relate this society to the world of nature and the cosmos (p. 32).” Therefore, Campbell’s theory supports the idea that the socio-cultural theory could be applied across cultures, societies, and times.

Table 1J. Joseph Campbell‘s Theory from the 5-Stage framework

The post A1. An Integrated Theory of Personality Development appeared first on PsychoEdu Global Media.

Isn’t feeding the homeless an empathic act? How about housing a runaway child at your place or feeding a stray cat or pigeons living under a neighbor’s roof?

When two empathic concerns collide, we must apply the wisdom learned from the five stages of understanding the empathic action.

In Stage 1, we are concerned about one’s basic survival needs, such as food and shelter. Some people will argue it is a constitutional human right.

However, some parents of runaway children may argue it is not their survival issue because they chose to run away to escape responsibility, and some may argue that homeless people choose to live outdoors to escape responsibility or continue an addictive lifestyle, not as a desperate survival measure.

In Stage 2, we are concerned about setting boundaries out of safety and health concerns for the general public, usually performed by police officers who are hired civil servants to show no emotion or empathy to perform their unpleasant duty of saying no.

In stage 3, laws or ordinances will be used to justify the enforcement of the boundaries to maintain the stability of the social/government system.

When these three values of the society collide, we need to use the higher order wisdom such as the real empathic approach at Stage 5 to resolve the conflict.

In Stage 4, due to highly individualistic orientation, we suggest feeding the homeless at other locations, such as school auditoriums, or unused parking lots, as long as the population does not pose a threat to the general public or the community in general.

The post Empathy Controversy: When Two different empathy concerns collide. appeared first on PsychoEdu Global Media.