Loevinger's stages of ego development

Jane Loevinger's stages of ego development includes nine sequential stages, each of which represents a progressively more complex way of perceiving oneself in relation to the world.

Infancy

 * Presocial
 * No ego
 * Not Differentiated from the World
 * Symbiotic
 * Self-Nonself Differentiation
 * Stability of Objects

Impulsive

 * Curbed by Restraints, Rewards & Punishments
 * Others are Seen as What They Can Give
 * "Nice to Me" or "Mean to Me"
 * Present-Centred
 * Physical but not Psychological Causation

Self-Protective

 * Anticipates Rewards & Punishments
 * First Self-Control
 * "Don’t Get Caught"
 * Externalize Blame
 * Opportunistic Hedonism

Conformist

 * Take in Rules of the Group
 * No Self Apart from Others
 * Other’s Disapproval is Sanction
 * Not Only Fear of Punishment
 * Rules and Norms not Distinguished
 * Rejects Out-Group
 * Stereotypes Roles
 * Security = Belonging
 * Behaviours Judged Externally not by Intentions

Self-Aware

 * Self Distinct from Norms & Expectations
 * First Inner Life
 * Banal Feelings Always in Reference to Others
 * Pseudo-Trait Conceptions
 * Modal Stage of Adults

Conscientious

 * Goals and Ideals
 * Sense of Responsibility
 * Rules are Internalized
 * Guilt is From Hurting Another, not Breaking Rules
 * Having Self Apart from Group
 * Standards are Self-Chosen
 * Traits are Part of Rich Interior World
 * Standards Distinguished from Manners
 * Motives and not Just Actions
 * Sees Self from Other Point of View

Individualistic

 * Distancing from Role Identities
 * Subjective Experience as Opposed to Objective Reality
 * Greater Tolerance of Self & Others
 * Relationships Cause Dependency
 * Awareness of Inner Conflict
 * Inner Reality Vs. Outward Appearance
 * Psychological Causality and Development

Autonomous

 * Inner Conflicts of Needs Vs Duties
 * Polarity, Complexity, Multiple Facets
 * Integrate Ideas
 * Tolerate Ambiguity
 * Freeing from Conscience
 * Concern for Emotional Interdependence
 * Integrates Different Identities
 * Self-Fulfillment
 * How They Function in Different Roles

Integrated

 * Transcendence of Conflicts
 * Self-Actualizing
 * Fully Worked Out Identity