Jane Loevinger (1918-2008) was an American psychologist working in the 20th century who focused on the idea of ego development across the lifespan. According to Loevinger (who worked as an assistant to Erik Erikson in graduate school), the ego (originally formulated by Sigmund Freud) was not a ”thing” but rather a ”process.” Loevinger believed that...Read More

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg created a theory of moral development (or more properly, “moral reasoning”) based upon Jean Piaget’s stages of cognition.  There are three basic levels:  preconventional, conventional, and postconventional, and two stages within each level.  The six stages are as follows: Level 1 (Preconventional) 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation – at this stage of...Read More