Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: B, page: 4160. Adviser: Reed W. Larson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-100) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-91). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Habilitationsschrift--Freie Universität Berlin. / Bibliography: p. 161-163.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: B, page: 4154. Adviser: Justin Kruger. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> This dissertation aims to understand various developmental decision making phenomena associated with turning points in the lives of middle-aged adults. More specifically, the decision processes of persons who lived in pre-war Nazi Germany were studied in relation to their decisions around emigration, based on their memoirs. The source material is from an archive located at Houghton Library, Harvard University, entitled &ldquo;My Life in Germany before and after January 30, 1933,&rdquo; collected in 1939&ndash;40. The study reveals three main reasons given for deciding to emigrate, the loss of employment opportunities, a feeling of moral repugnance for the Nazi regime, and an experience of physical threat. Developmental findings related to the turning point, following Maslow, revealed coping abilities amid an atmosphere of tension, reflecting maintained attainment of adult functioning and a persistent sense of self. Turning point findings supported an extended rather than pinpoint definition of the turning point.</p>

This dissertation studies the generic construct of critical consciousness, defined as the kind of awareness characterized by the independent and interdependent investigation of truth and meaning, both internally and in one's social environment, which allows an individual to disembed from it, engage in a critical moral dialogue with it, and become a moral and caring agent for positive change in his/her social world. The study subjects the broad phenomenon of CC to a rigorous empirical and developmental exegesis through descriptive accounts of the levels of its evolution in the life-span of interview subjects and secondary life histories from different cultural and historic contexts. It brings together Neo-Piagetian and Vygotskian understanding into an integrated model of the ontogeny of CC as an alterative, optimal developmental pathway of the evolving of adult social consciousness on the boundary of public and private. This study has established three levels in the CC pathway: Pre-CC, Conventional CC, and Postconventional CC. Each level is described in terms of a different range of tasks, concerns, and capabilities in their cross-cultural and socio-contextual variation. Converging theoretical and empirical evidence supports the empirical claim that the centrality of authentic moral concerns in the formation of consciousness is independent of the level of operant structural development, although the moral motivational dimensions are continuously elaborated throughout development. Hence, the ontogeny of CC is described as the synergistic outcome of the on-going interplay between moral motivation and the composite structural development of consciousness. The composite structural developmental component includes social-cognitive and ego development. Moral motivation is analyzed in terms of the interaction of four dimensions in the formation of personhood. They are: (1) the formation of a moral sense of identity and moral imperative; (2) the negotiation of external moral authority progressively internalized as moral responsibility and agency; (3) the formation of empathic and permeable relationships, and concerns with justice and not hurting, which grow into social consciousness; (4) the search for greater meaning in life than the individual self, which serves as a vantage point for self-reflection and critical examination of reality.

An individual's social identity development in pluralistic societies going through an integration process has been little understood. A study was conducted on the Lebanese individual's social identity development. Based on a study of the theories of the psychology of social identity development, four Lebanese Identity development stages were proposed where an individual's social identity progresses from an unintegrated Lebanese, sectarian group identity, towards a more integrated Lebanese Identity. To test the validity of these stages, two research studies, a qualitative and a quantitative study, were conducted to explore the Lebanese social identity. In the qualitative study, open ended interviews of a number of Lebanese community leaders were conducted and analyzed. While the four proposed identity stages were reflected in the subjects' views, the majority of their views reflected a higher stage of identity development where the emphasis was on a civic society and the satisfaction of the individual's rights and needs as a basis of the integrated Lebanese social identity. These results were in agreement with the proposed Lebanese Identity development stages. Moreover, a quantitative research study examined the relationship between an individual's various socio-economic factors and their level of identity development. The results revealed that there is a strong relationship between an individual's level of identity development and the following socio-economic variables: Sectarian identity, profession, level of education, source of data collection, and nature of dual Lebanese nationality. In general, it was concluded that individuals had higher levels of Lebanese Identity development when they enjoyed a more secure life, had higher levels of communication and exposure to others in society as well as higher levels of education.

This dissertation examines the use of the dark areas of the occult in the lives of six adolescents who have been involved with black magic, satanic ritual, or other occult practices. All but one of the subjects were connected to the community helping system because of divorce, abuse and/or neglect, delinquency, and substance abuse. Data was collected by means of an interview concerned with the ethnic, economic and religious background of the subjects' family, the subjects' relationships with family, community and state agencies, and the duration of involvement with the occult. The interview and data analysis drew from two perspectives: The first five stages of Erik Erikson's "Eight Stages of Man" identity development model and the existential psychological examination of the "problems of youth" by Paul Goodman in Growing Up Absurd (1960). The study provides an examination of the historical and current use of the occult as a social-strain gauge and disturbing parallels of despairing behavior between the youth culture of Weimar Republic Germany and that of the United States. A strong connection is made between the involvement with dark areas of the occult and the loss of meaning, hope and faith. The subjects came from circumstances that hampered healthy negotiation of Erik Erikson's first five stages of identity development. The subjects grew up in circumstances that led to despairing beliefs and behaviors, as described by Goodman. The data suggests that the nature of the use of magic during early adolescence depends on the nurturent (physical, psychological and ideological) circumstances of infancy, and latency. If the child despairs because of insufficient family/community nurturence then the dark, deviant and depraved element of the occult is more likely to manifest itself. The subjects represent a larger despairing population (uninvolved with the occult or the helping system) that puts society at risk politically and economically. The current youth culture parallels with Weimar Republic youth culture suggest that this larger despairing population threatens society because they could be manipulated by historical circumstance and charismatic personalities to commit widespread depravity in the name of political change.

This study examines the relationship between developmental stage and psychological experience in the transition to motherhood. Kegan's constructive-developmental theory (1982) is used to divide new mothers into groups according to developmental position. The issues and themes that emerge as salient for women at different developmental positions are then contrasted. Constructive-developmental theory describes the evolution of stages of cognitive making meaning. The theory focuses on underlying structural change in subject-object balance, a balance which influences the manner in which individuals experience themself and their environments. Two semi-structured interviews provided data about women's experiences in the transition to motherhood. The content interview elicited information about the changes in a woman's identity, her relationships and the integration of motherhood into her life structure. The Subject-Object interview was conducted and scored for developmental position. Participants also completed a demographic questionnaire, a projective instrument and the MAACL-R. Twelve first time mothers between the ages of 25 and 33 with infants between the ages of 2 months and one year participated. The women in the sample are in the Interpersonal (3) balance in Kegan's model so that relationships are an important source of identity for them. The evolution through the constructive-developmental continuum is confirmed by the differentiation of two developmental groupings combining Imperial (2) and Institutional (4) structures with the Interpersonal (3). These groups vary in: their ability to take perspective, the source of their identity and the meaning of relationships in their lives. One woman for whom the Imperial (2) dominated is discussed separately. The results are discussed in terms of connections to previous research on motherhood, specifically (1) the ability to express anger; (2) the impact of motherhood on self-esteem; and (3) motherhood and employment. Implications of the study for providing services to new mothers are discussed. Also, the theoretical implications of Imperial (2) structures in normal adults and the application of constructive-developmental theory to women's lives are discussed.

This is the first study of its kind to integrate empirical data from college men who reported a childhood sexual experience with a significantly older person with qualitative accounts of their perceptions and adaptations to these sexual interactions. The purpose was to delineate between those experiences that were clearly perceived as abusive, versus those incidents that were judged to be more positive. Descriptive accounts of these events, along with independent measures of current interpersonal functioning and adherence to hypermasculine beliefs and attitudes, provided several sources from which to ascertain internal consistency or discrepancies in reporting. This study shows that 18% of male college students are willing to report such a childhood sexual experience (CSE), with an equal ratio of young males engaging with an older male or female. Students who disclosed such a sexual event were more likely to come from conflictual family homes, to identify higher levels of sexual dysfunction, and lower levels of sexual self-esteem. They were also likely to engage in more masturbatory activity and in less direct sexual interactions with others. Boys who were adolescents at the time of the CSE were more likely to have their sexual development arrested, which incurred substantial impairments to their sexual self-identity. This study also confirms that boys who have had sexual experiences as children with older women are far more likely to perceive these experiences as positive and beneficial in their lives. The findings from this project assert that future empirical research and clinical interventions with this population needs to allow men more open-ended opportunities to describe and self-define a wide variety of childhood sexual experiences, free of biased language (e.g. abuse, victim, or molestation). With a self-created framework within which to evaluate childhood sexual interactions, men can begin to reflect upon how their own past sexual experiences influence their current interpersonal and sexual adjustment. These conversations will hopefully lead to more open dialogues about power; sexual, personal, interpersonal, and community power--its uses and abuses. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)