Personality theory stresses the importance of communion with self to personal development. Since writing is a form of communion with self, researchers have begun looking for measurable differences in the personality development of writers and nonwriters. Several experiments have tended to confirm that writing has the potential to effect positive…

This book discusses the moral development theories of Piaget and Kohlberg and presents practical applications of these theories for teachers and parents. The author's purpose in writing the book is to present an exposition of the work of these men to the general reading public. Chapter titles are Introduction to Developmental Theories, presenting…

This discussion entails some notions on the nature of creativity, the process of authentic risk-taking, and the person of the counselor in creating and taking risks. Technique is the impediment to creativity in counseling. The person who functions as an effective counselor functions from within, relying on the same resources from which flows…

This is a short assessment outline for use by non-clinicians in evaluating the development of young children. It usually requires 20-30 minutes to assess one child. It may be used periodically to evaluate changes, as a year-end summary, or as a means of communicating with others who have contacts with the child. Sections of the assessment deal…

An Analysis of responses to the Spence-Helmreich Attitudes Toward Women Scale by the Loevinger-Wessler Stages of ego development is presented in this article. The ANOVA results show a clear trend for attitude scores of women to increase toward equality and choice as their ego stage increases. (Author)

Are camps solely in the business of providing fun, or are they facilitators of crucial life skills? A social worker explores the fun versus character-building debate, concluding that though camp is not group therapy, it contributes to overall personal growth and to the social and emotional development of all children. (JMM)

The world view of students was investigated, measuring covert causal assumptions about the relationship between the person and physical and social reality. The results indicate that people place themselves in particular intellectual arenas because of their preexisting ideology. Suggestions for further study are made. (PS)

A plea for adults to respect children's growth patterns and to realize that a child's feelings about himself will determine, in large part, his ability to cope with his world. (Author/ST)

Examined the relationship between anxiety and self-actualization in a sample of college students. Items (N=33) from the Personal Orientation Inventory were found to measure anxiety and scored negatively for self-actualization. Removal of anxiety items and rescoring yielded self-actualization measures related postively to anxiety test scores.…

Assumed determinants of ego identity were investigated using high school students. The Marcia Ego Identity Status Scale was given as well as measures of sex role identification, personality development, psychological functioning, self concept, and parental socialization practices. Overall, the data supported Erikson's theory of ego identity…

Explored associations between the present emotional and social development of low- and middle-income African American male and female college students and the substitute care arrangements they experienced as infants. Questionnaire results from 282 college students show that the experience of substitute care arrangements during infancy did not…

In 2004, a group of high school students at a private American school in Mexico City started the first gay-straight alliance in Mexico. A small group of conservative parents and a Mormon principal organized in opposition. This paper details the students' struggle to keep their club and offers lessons learned about student activism, school change,…

Case studies of self-actualizing people according to the ideas of A. Maslow and the criteria of K. Dabrowski are presented. To find people meeting the criteria of Level 4 of the Dabrowski theory, a pool of 21 subjects was established by nomination. All subjects were given the Definition-Response Instrument to assess levels of emotional…

Factors which aid an individual's progression from one stage of moral reasoning to another remain a mystery. Theorists suggest that intraception, defined as a predominance of feeling, fantasy, and aspirations (connoting a humanistic outlook and an ability to develop role-taking skills) as opposed to a down-to-earth, skeptical attitude, may be an…