The Adult Development Model of Increasing Mental Complexity
We’re on the hunt to define what personal development actually is. Our approach? To look at it from four different perspectives. The primary reason you might want to know what personal development actually is…
When you understand the context, your personal development efforts will be much more effective.
In this post, we look at personal development through the perspective of “adult development.” In the prior post (here), we defined personal development in general terms. I’ve been using the analogy of walking around “personal development” and looking at it from four “scenic overlooks.” Here, we reach the first of the four scenic overlooks. Ready?
Adult Development
Adult Development is a well-researched area. I specifically chose to start here because it rests on science and research. It is solid, I find it very informative and fascinating, and thus it makes for a great point of departure!
I will draw from two of the leading researchers in the field of adult development, Bob Kegan and Lisa Lahey, professors from Harvard University. Specifically, I’ll refer to Chapter 2, ‘What do we mean by Development?,’ from their book An Everyone Culture. What I learned from this one chapter was worth the price of the book. I highly commend it to you.
Much of what I’m writing to you here is my interpretation and explanation. So, if you want the straight science from the professors, go to the source. The book. What is included in parentheses are direct quotations from the book. Assume all else is my interpretation, opinion, or experience.
What is development?
Let’s start with a quotation from the book (page 58) …
“What is ‘development itself’? For more than a hundred years, researchers have studied the ways human beings construct reality and have observed how that constructing can become more expansive, less distorted, less egocentric, and less reactive over time.”
Whoa. Let’s deconstruct that statement. It’s loaded.
First, notice the notion that we “construct reality.” If you are like most people, you don’t think you construct reality, you think you see reality. Right? This reminds me of the saying, “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Further, even if you have read this saying and believe it to be true, that probably isn’t the way you act. In other words, when you are emotionally triggered and dealing with a difficult situation, I’d guess the notion that you are “constructing reality” and the way you are constructing it is causing your pain (and not the other person or the situation) is the last thing on your mind. All I can say is it usually isn’t on my mind.
Second, notice that “development” involves making our construction of reality “more expansive, less distorted, less egocentric, and less reactive over time.” What is implied here is that most of us — to one degree or another — are constructing our reality in a way that is relatively constricted, distorted, egocentric, and reactive. Yikes!
The problem is that, when it matters most, we tend to not be seeing straightforwardly. We believe we are, we act as if we are, and yet our perception (construction of reality) is to some degree (and perhaps a very significant degree) constricted, distorted, egocentric, and reactive. No wonder we do or say things we later regret!
Adult development, therefore, is about increasing our capacity to construct reality in a more accurate way. When we see more straightforwardly, understanding increases, wisdom deepens, and right action arises. We suffer less, and we cause less suffering. We do more good, and less harm. Sign me up.
A few bits about “mental complexity” …
Our level of mental complexity impacts how constricted, distorted, egocentric, and reactive our construction of reality is. Higher levels of mental complexity are therefore more expansive, less distorted, less egocentric, and less reactive. Keep this term — mental complexity — in mind as we go along here. Here are some key points about it:
- Mental complexity tends to increase with age. There is, however, considerable variation within any age.
- As mental complexity evolves and increases, good stuff happens. We “take greater responsibility for our thinking and feeling, can retain more layers of information, and can think further into the future” — to name only a few of the well-researched consequences of mental development.
- People move through these evolutions in mental complexity at different speeds.
- “Many of us, if not most of us, get stuck in our evolution and do not reach the most complex peaks.”This is a very, very important point. In other words, even though mental complexity tends to increase over time when looking at a large group of people being researched, it does not mean our individual mental complexity continues to increase past a certain point. In fact, to the contrary, these researchers are saying that many of us, if not all of us, get stuck. That means me. And you. (But it doesn’t have to go that way!)
- “Development does not unfold continuously; there are periods of stability and periods of change.When a new plateau (level) is reached, we tend to stay on that level for a considerable period of time.”
- “Mental complexity is not about how much you know or how high your IQ is.”Keep this in mind. It is not about how much you know. It is about how you construct reality. You can know a lot (high IQ), and still construct reality in a very constricted, distorted, egocentric, and reactive way.
Three different levels of mental complexity
The research indicates there are three levels of mental development for adults. There are intervals leading from the prior level up to the next one. Therefore, the way it shakes out is there are six phases: three levels, plus three transitions or intervals. You and I are somewhere along that arc of intervals and levels.
“Each level represents a different way of knowing the world.” This is a very important statement, because the change in the way of knowing the world at each of the three levels is not subtle. It is substantial. As you are about to see…
The three levels of adult mental complexity are…
Level 1. Socialized Mind
Level 2. Self-Authoring Mind
Level 3. Self-Transforming Mind
Level 1: Socialized Mind
At this level, our primary focus is to conform. We conform to a group and align with the group’s will and the group’s leader. Our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, urges, etc., are subrogated to the group in order to conform. We are reliant, seeking direction, focusing on aligning with something outside of us, loyal soldiers and faithful followers.
When at this level of mental complexity, what I say is strongly influenced by what I believe other want to hear. Groupthink and obedience to authority are hallmarks of this level of complexity of mind. This over-attunement to pleasing others also sets up a problem: distortions in reading and interpreting subtexts, messages, motivations, etc. In short, the socialized mind is certain something is there (in the communication or the person sending it) that simply isn’t.
At this level…
“Our self coheres by its alignment with, and loyalty to, that which it identifies.”
Level 2: Self-Authoring Mind
At this level, our primary focus is to assert, to individuate. We feel, see, and hold ourselves out as independent, problem-solving, possessing our own internal compass, and very good at making things happen.
When at this level of mental complexity, “what I say is strongly influenced by what I deem others need to or ought to hear to best further the agenda or mission of my design.” What I listen to is likewise “filtered.” Filtering enables focus, and focus and getting people in motion are hallmarks of this level of complexity of mind.
This capacity for filtering and focus also sets up a problem: our love of our plans, ideas, and agendas is blind. We are always missing something, and that something is being filtered out. So while we are great at making our plans happen, those plans may be misguided and their ultimate outcomes ripe with undesired, unintended consequences. Others won’t tell us where we are blind. And if they do, in one way or another, we sideline, marginalize, tune out, or may even demonize their views and them.
At this level…
“Our self coheres by its alignment with its own belief system, ideology, or personal code; by the ability to self-direct, take stands, set limits, and create and regulate its boundaries on behalf of its own voice.”
Level 3: Self-Transforming Mind
At this level, our primary focus is to integrate, to be inclusive. We are no longer lost in the group, or lost in our own agenda and sense of self. Whereas the first two levels are very much about the ego (just manifesting in two very different ways), at this level the grip of the ego is loosening. Rather than gravitating towards a singular position or belief on anything, we can hold multiple, apparently contradictory perspectives. We are in touch with our own will (which we were working with in level 2), we are in touch with the will of the group (which we were working with in level 1), and we add to that a sense of being in touch with life, with a future that wants to emerge.
Therefore, we are embodying interdependence. Rather than identifying with our ability to solve problems, we find joy in our ability to find the problems that need to be solved, collaboratively. Our mental frame is now a meta-frame. Rather than pushing away what we dislike or disagree with (aversion), pulling to us what we like or agree with (clinging), and marginalizing or blocking out everything else (ignoring), we can hold it all, sense it all, use it all. We embrace the paradoxes, contradictions, and tensions between apparently oppositional forces or poles. We assume we are missing something, and we are looking for and open to what we are missing… yet we are still able to focus and make things happens, something we mastered in level 2.
We still have “filters,” but we now have the capacity to look at our filters, and not just through them. This gives us the capacity to modify those filters, through greater understanding and wisdom. Such modification is difficult or impossible at the other two levels, because we are fully identified with the filters. We don’t have them: They have us. Therefore, we can’t look at them. Only through them. And to change, modify, or expand our filters requires the capacity to look at them.
At this level…
“Our self coheres through its ability not to confuse internal consistency with wholeness or completeness, and through its alignment with the dialectic* rather than either pole.”
*I had to look this one up. If you don’t know the word, join the club. “Dialectic – a philosophical term meaning (1) the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions, (2) inquiry into metaphysical contradictions and their solutions.”
What about the intervals or slopes between levels?
That’s beyond the scope of this post, but I can give you a short example. Imagine the slope between Level 1: Socialized Mind, and Level 2: Self-Authoring Mind. The former is about conforming and the latter is about asserting, right? That slope, like all the slopes, is a slippery slope. Between two worlds, if you will. So on the one hand, the person on this slope is trying to self-assert, and on the other hand is still trying to please everyone. These things are mutually exclusive. So the person on that slope is working out that issue (among other issues).
It is the same for the other slopes. It’s a little like moving from one monkey bar to another. You can’t move farther down the monkey bars if you don’t let go of the bar (level) behind you. At first, that letting go triggers a lot of fear and anxiety. Letting go is hard, but also exciting. And this is precisely why many of us, if not almost all of us, get stuck. Fear tends to trump excitement, at some point.
Can you skip levels or intervals?
Nope. You are developing essential skills and gaining required experiences at each level and the transitions between them. So you can’t skip. Each level has it’s issues, as does each interval. But working through each one develops capacities, skills, and abilities absolutely required for the next level. So, not only can you not skip levels, you don’t want to. You’d be ill-equipped to function at the next level. Each level is an integration of all the preceding levels and intervals… whilst transcending the pitfalls of the prior levels through deeper understanding (increased mental complexity). Make sense?
Where am I on these levels?
That’s a good question and I don’t have a good answer for you. I’m not even sure reading the book will help you with that, due to the fact that each of us has such an incredible capacity for self-deception and illusory superiority. Because of these two dynamics (and more), suffice it to say that you and I are probably not as far along as we think we are. But I can give you some statistics from the book, and I can give you some experience I’ve had in seeing people self-assess…
When I take clients through the exercise of identifying their level, they tend to self-assess two clicks higher than a colleague and I assess them to be at. I don’t mean two levels higher. There are three intervals and three levels, for a total of six.
Two “clicks” means that a person who self-assesses at being at the highest level — Self-Transforming — is likely at the Self-Authoring level. (One click is the slope between Self-Transforming and Self-Authoring. And the second click is Self-Authoring level itself.) A person self-assessing to be on the slope between Self-Authoring and Self-Transforming is more likely on the slope between Socialized Mind and Self-Authoring. See how it works?
Now to the statistics. The book includes two studies which found very similar results regarding the percentage of the adult population at each level. I’ve averaged the two studies for the Distribution of Levels of Mental Complexity Among Adults graphic, above.
How this relates to understanding personal development
What do we take from this scenic overlook?
Personal development is the process of increasing mental complexity. For our purposes here, we can say it isn’t about increasing your IQ. And it isn’t first and foremost about increasing your EQ. (EQ is what some us to denote “emotional intelligence”). It is about changing the way you construct reality.
True personal development leads to increased mental complexity, which leads to constructing reality in a way that is more expansive, less distorted, less egocentric, and less reactive. The opposites of these things are constriction, distortion, egocentricity, and reactivity. These things cause problems, and therefore suffering. We can also say that personal development is a journey of increasing levels of mental complexity whereby we cause ourselves and others to suffer less, where we can do more good, experience more joy, and can better serve others and life.
The point of bringing you to this overlook was to help you see three things:
First, there’s science and research behind what adult development is. It is not some woo-woo thing someone dreamed up. A skilled professional could take you through what is called the “subject-object interview” and identify your level of mental complexity.
Second, the science and research is telling us that development is the process of increasing mental complexity. What this looks like has been defined in the three levels of Socialized Mind, Self-Authoring Mind, and Self-Transforming Mind. You’ve now been introduced to these.
Third, those higher levels of mental complexity bring some really good news! Increasing mental complexity enables us to:
- Construct reality in a more accurate way. By seeing more clearly, our thoughts, feelings, and actions are more informed and produce sweeter fruit.
- Experience ourselves and life in a richer and more expansive way
- Connect and contribute in ways we cannot currently imagine, and
- Perform at higher levels (see Chapter 2 of the book for the performance research), too.
You gotta feel good about that! That’s personal development.
How do you increase mental complexity?
That’s a reasonable question, but we aren’t there just yet. There are three more overlooks to go. At this point in our walk together, we are simply trying to define what personal development actually is. When you understand what personal development is, the how becomes more self-evident and therefore much easier. At the end of this series, we will provide a broad overview of the how. But for now …
What’s next?
The levels of development per the Enneagram. If in the above, you read that increasing mental complexity means we become less egocentric, among other things. What is ego? How does ego show up at different levels of development? We get into all this and more in our second scenic overlook, and it will cast more light on this big, remarkable, amazing, and mysterious thing called personal development.
That’s up, next!
Make it a good weekend.
Otis
P.S. If someone passed this along to you, and you’d like more of this… you can subscribe here.
P.P.S. There are two prior posts in this series: 1) My Mission: To Help You Better Understand Personal Development, and 2) Personal Development, Defined.