Loevinger's Stages of Ego Development - The Nine Stages

The Nine Stages

Loevinger describes the ego as a process, not a thing. The ego is viewed as the frame of reference (or lens) one uses to construct and interpret's one's world. This contains impulse control and character development, with interpersonal relations, and with cognitive preoccupations, including self-concept. Sullivan (1958) 'had proposed four levels of "interpersonal maturity and interpersonal integration": Impulsive, Conformist, Conscientious, and Autonomous'. Developing over time from that initial framework, Loevinger completed a developmental model including nine sequential stages, each of which represents a progressively more complex way of perceiving oneself in relation to the world. Every stage provides a frame of reference to organize and give meaning to experience over the individual's life course. 'Since each new ego stage or frame of reference builds on the previous one and integrates it, no one can skip a stage...One has not yet acquired the interpersonal logic'.

As the adult ego develops, Loevinger considered, a sense of self-awareness emerges in which one becomes aware of discrepancies between conventions and one's own behavior. For some, development reaches a plateau and does not continue. Among others, greater ego integration and differentiation continue. Loevinger proposed eight/nine stages of ego in development, the six which occur in adulthood being conformist, conscientious-conformist, conscientious, individualistic, autonomous, and integrated. The majority of adults are at the conscientious-conformist level.