Common Processes Underlying Ego Identity, Cognitive/Moral Development, and Individuation

Abstract

This chapter discusses the interrelationships among three major theoretical streams in developmental personality theory: psychosocial (ego psychoanalytic), cognitive/moral, and object relations. The starting point for looking at this proposed interrelationship is with the psychosocial concept of ego identity. The first section of this chapter concerns some theoretical and empirical justification for relating ego identity status to cognitive development, moral development, and the object relational concept of individuation. The second section of the chapter deals with these three approaches from the standpoint of their similar developmental goals, underlying processes, and child-rearing implications.