1981_Gage, Morse & Piechowski

According to the theory of positive disintegration there are distinct levels of emotional and personality development that are not tied to specific chronological ages. The present study sought (a) to develop a set of methods for assessing a person’s developmental level, and (b) to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of the methods. Over a period of one month, eight college seniors wrote autobiographies and completed four other measures. Three of the four new methods exhibited consistent convergent and discriminant validity. The relative advantages and disadvantages of the various methods are discussed.