Washington University Sentence Completion Test Research Articles

Fostering ego development through group coaching in a postgraduate program

ObjectivesLiterature review evidences several studies on structured programs to promote ego development, but none use a group coaching approach although impact factors and effectiveness of group coaching appear well-suited to potentially foster ego development. This study aims to address the void by examining effects of a group coaching program (that also includes peer coaching) on ego development in a postgraduate program of a German University.DesignWe conducted an intervention study that is based on ego development theory, the (cognitive-) developmental approach to coaching, and a theory-based conceptual framework to ego development. We applied different coaching tools in the program that addressed ego stage-specific development issues, e.g. reflection and development of multiplicity of self-concepts, and underlying beliefs and meaning systems.MethodsThe program consisted of twenty-nine participants who self-selected and were drafted via lottery. The coaching program extended over ten weeks. Ego development was assessed using the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) eight weeks before the coaching program (pretest) and again ten weeks after it began (posttest). Pairwise t-tests were applied to test whether the mean values of ego stage are different at pretest and posttest.ResultsFindings suggest that the group coaching program fostered ego development. Compared to pretest ego level was significantly higher at posttest. The program was more effective for participants at the self-aware ego stage than for coachees at the conscientious ego stage at pretest.ConclusionsThe findings provide empirical support that group coaching can promote ego development in adults. In addition to the specific design and the impact factors of group and peer coaching on ego development we consider the relationship with the coachees and the creation of a trusting and shame-free space important impact factors. Considering the high demand for the program from the post-graduate students, group coaching for advancement of ego development should be considered as an important part of the curriculum. More research is needed and should include larger sample size, a control group, and should control for factors such as coaching setting or role of coach.

The ways school headteachers/principals in England at different stages of adult ego development work with organisational complexity

In this article, we analyse the ways school headteachers/principals (HT/Ps) at different stages of adult ego development (AED) make sense of and respond to the organisational complexity of their schools. The AED stage of 20 HT/Ps in England was assessed using the Washington University Sentence Completion Test. HT/Ps in the self-aware, conscientious and individualist AED stage were identified. The research used a critical incident technique to analyse how principals made sense of and responded to the complexity of their organisations. Those HT/Ps in the self-aware, conscientious and individualist stages differed in the way they acknowledged complexity, their capacity to recognise and accept ambiguity and unpredictability; and the way they acknowledged emergence in resolving wicked problems. Importantly, the way these differences were different in individuals in the self-aware, conscientious and individualist stages showed a clear development trend with an increasing acknowledgement of complexity; a growing tolerance of ambiguity and unpredictability; and an increasing acknowledgement of emergence in complex contexts. The findings have implications for the way the role of HT/P is viewed and developed in actual and potential HT/Ps. One important implication is that the stage of HT/Ps’ AED is likely to impact on their overall effectiveness in their role.

A growing concern for meaning: Exploring the links between ego development and eudaimonia.

Eudaimonia, in contrast to hedonia, is theorized to be a more complex type of positive functioning that involves personal growth and is guided by the pursuit of meaning. However, the existing evidence linking eudaimonia to personality development is rather scarce. To fill this gap, we aimed to explore whether ego development is related to eudaimonic well-being and eudaimonic orientations, most notably, the concern for meaning: we explored both the quantitative differences in the presence of meaning and the search for it, as well as qualitative differences in lay theories of meaning. Russian-speaking volunteers recruited online (N = 364, aged 18 to 85, 63% female) completed measures of ego development (Washington University Sentence Completion Test), meaning in life (Meaning in Life Questionnaire), lay theories of meaning (and original 20-item measure), hedonic and eudaimonic motives for activities (HEMA), and well-being (Mental Health Continuum-Short Form). Ego development emerged as a weak, but significant positive predictor of well-being and this effect was fully mediated by the presence of meaning and eudaimonic motives. Latent profile analysis of the items tapping into lay theories of meaning revealed four distinct individual approaches to meaning that mainly differed in the subjective importance and salience of meaning. Participants with stronger concern for meaning revealed higher scores on ego development, both presence and search for meaning, eudaimonic motives, and well-being. The results add to the evidence concerning the links between ego development and well-being and are in line with the theoretical view of eudaimonia as a process of growth guided by personal concern for meaning. The findings suggest that eudaimonia might be more easily attained by individuals at higher stages of personal development.

Exploring Rational and Non-rational Dimensions of Interpersonal Complexity

Contemporary models of psychosocial development include domains of development for interpersonal relations and cognitive complexity. Integrating these two domains to conceptualize interpersonal complexity is a useful construct for research purposes. Furthermore, the analysis of interpersonal complexity can benefit from approaching it from both rational and non-rational dimensions. The former can be done through Jane Loevinger’s conceptualization of adult ego development while the latter can be done through Gilbert Durand’s conceptualization of the Anthropological Structures of the Imaginary. Furthermore, the Washington University Sentence Completion Test is an empirically sound instrument to test the rational aspects of interpersonal complexity while the Archetypal Test of Nine Elements is an empirically sound instrument to test the non-rational elements of it. This article will conclude with research implications and applications of approaching interpersonal complexity from both the rational and non-rational dimensions.

Standardization and Study of Some Psychometric Properties of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (Long-form) among the Iranian Students

Introduction and Objectives: The Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) is one of the tools used to assess personality. Personality assessment helps to make decisions, diagnose, and choose the right treatments. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the standardization of some psychometric properties of the WUSCT among Iranian students. Materials and Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive survey study included 287 medical students who were studying in Tehran, Iran, in the academic year 2015. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater agreement were used to assess the reliability; moreover, the convergent validity was utilized to evaluate the construct validity of the WUSCT. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 21). Results: The results of the present study indicated that the acceptable internal consistency of the WUSCT (P<0.001). Furthermore, the test re-test reliability of the WUSCT was determined at 0.86 (P<0.001). The correlation between the total scores of the two examiners was obtained at 0.88 (P <0.001). Moreover, the results of the convergent validity indicated the strongest correlation between ego development and ego strength (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that the WUSCT had the appropriate and acceptable validity and reliability in Iranian society. Accordingly, this test can be an appropriate tool for measuring persona

School principals at different stages of adult ego development: Their sense-making capabilities and how others experience them

The way school principals make sense of the context of their work shapes their actions. As in all adults, principals’ sense-making capability is a function of the ego and can change over time. Adult ego development theory describes distinct, qualitatively different stages of sense-making ability. The research reported here assessed the adult ego development stage of 20 school principals in England using the Washington University Sentence Completion Test. Principals in the Self-Aware, Conscientious and Individualist stages of adult ego development were identified. The research used a critical incident technique to analyse principals’ sense-making capabilities and how others experience them in their role as principals. The findings show substantive differences between those in different stages of adult ego development in relation to their sense-making processes, the feelings they experience and display as emotions, how they involve others in the sense-making process and how others experience them. There is a discernible trend in the behaviours of school principals and how others experience them that relates to the transition from the Self-Aware stage to the Conscientious stage and then to the Individualist stage. These findings have significant implications for understanding the practice of school principals.

In pursuit of organisational wisdom

Key digested messageThe concept of ‘wisdom’ is ancient but is something that, as studied by psychologists as opposed to philosophers, has only recently received attention. If wisdom is objectively measurable it has far reaching implications for how we understand leadership, leadership development and potential. This study utilised an adapted version of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test to investigate the concept of ‘Organisational Wisdom’ (OW).This study found evidence, that the newly developed Organisational Wisdom Sentence Completion Test had statistically significant correlations with leadership interviews and positive correlations with internal measures of potential and performance. When combined with related research the implications for identifying and developing talent are far reaching.

Advancing Ego Development in Adulthood Through Study of the Enneagram System of Personality

A rapidly growing number of working professionals, academic communities, and businesses have applied the Enneagram personality system of nine types to enhance psychological growth in their personal and professional lives. However, there are no existing studies that measure the effects of the application of Enneagram training programs to promote ego development. This study examined if ego development took place among individuals enrolled in Enneagram training programs in the Narrative Tradition. Two groups of participants (N = 122) were assessed using the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) at baseline (pretest) before the training began and then again 18 months later (posttest); one of the groups participated in Enneagram Intensive training programs (n = 73) and the other group participated in introductory Enneagram trainings (n = 49). Data revealed an advancement in ego development among some of the participants who received at least 40–50 h of training. The findings suggest that Enneagram Intensive trainings may be beneficial for promoting psychological growth and ego development. Clinical applications and future research directions are discussed.

Личностное развитие и качество уединения

The paper focuses on the associations between personality development and qualitative characteristics of experiences in solitude. The authors review recent studies of solitude and discuss the differences between solitude and loneliness. A mixed-methods empirical study of solitude experiences using an online sample (N=204) is presented. The respondents reported the quantity of time they typically spend in solitude and described their subjective experiences and typical activities during this time. They also completed Multidimensional Inventory of Loneliness Experience (MILE), Existence Scale (ES), and Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT). Ego development measured by WUSCT showed weak positive associations with positive solitude (MILE), self-transcendence (ES), the prevalence of positive emotions in solitude, and a higher variety of activities in solitude (particularly, meditation, creative activities, physical activity), based on content analysis. The findings indicate that individuals at advanced ego development stages are less likely to suffer from loneliness when alone, but to accept the situations of solitude, endorse them, and use them in creative ways. The findings explain the individual differences in the experiences associated with solitude and are discussed in the context of existential and cultural-historical approach.

Ego Development and the Internalization of Conflict in Young Adults

The theory and measurement of ego development (Loevinger in Ego development: Conceptions and theories. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1976) have enjoyed success in the empirical literature as a means of conceptualizing psychological maturity. One unresolved issue concerns the uncertain relationship between ego development and positive adjustment or well-being. The current study tests the hypothesis that ego development in the transition to young adulthood entails an increase in internalizing symptoms and a decrease in externalizing symptoms of psychopathology. Two samples of college students (total n = 263, age range 18–22 years) completed a measure of ego development, the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT; Hy and Loevinger in Measuring ego development. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, 1996), and either the Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI; Ihilevich and Gleser in Defense mechanisms: Their classification, correlates, and measurement with the Defense Mechanisms Inventory. Psychological Assessment Resources, Odessa, 1993) or select scales from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey in Personality Assessment Inventory professional manual 2. Psychological Assessment Resources, Lutz, 2007). Results indicate that WUSCT scores are positively correlated with internalizing defense preferences, anxiety-related disorders, unstable mood and identity, and sense of stress. WUSCT scores are negatively correlated with externalizing defense preferences and alcohol problems, and with aggression in males. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that ego development is related to the specific type, rather than overall level, of psychopathology experienced by young adults.

What Kind of Self-Awareness Follows Growth: Facets of Reflection at Different Levels of Ego Development

A theory of ego development (ED), established by Jane Loevinger (1966), remains one of the strongest theoretical approaches to exploration of personality development. The ego development process seems to be somehow determined by the more particular mechanisms. The author and her followers often marked the self-awareness, or reflection, as one of such mechanisms that advances a person through the stages. At the same time, the general perspective of the links between the ego level and the basic personality characteristics is still less than clear. The below research is aimed to clarify how different types of reflection, basic personality dimensions and satisfaction with life indicators proceed and interact at the different stages of the personality evolution process. A sample of 259 adolescents and youths, participants of a summer school in Russia, aged from 14 to 25, answered on the Washington University Sentence Completion Test, the Differential Test of Reflection, the Big Five Questionnaire, and Satisfaction with Life scale. The positive and negative facets of reflection behaved ambiguously through the different stages of ED. There was an ascending linear dependence between the productive (Systemic) type of reflection and the ED level. At the same time, non-productive types of reflection (Quasi-Reflection and Introspection), although they were positively associated with Neuroticism and negatively linked to Satisfaction with Life, had no significant connections with the Ego Development level.

Promoting post-conventional consciousness in leaders: Australian community leadership programs

This study explored the impact on consciousness development of participating in either standard or enhanced community leadership programs (CLPs) in Australia. Aligned with Manners' and Durkin's (2000) conceptual framework, CLPs offer experiences that are interpersonal, emotionally engaging, personally salient and structurally disequilibriating for later conventional consciousness stages. Enhanced CLPs include additional psychosocial challenges. Participants were 335 adults who took part in one of 4 standard CLPs, 7 enhanced CLPs and 2 (control) management programs. Modal program length was 10months. Standard and enhanced CLPs were successful in facilitating consciousness development (as measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test—WUSCT) within the conventional stages. However, enhanced CLPs were significantly more successful in triggering post-conventional development, and specifically in those participants who had a preference for Sensing (as measured by the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator—MBTI). Enhanced CLPs could provide a model for other development programs aimed at promoting post-conventional consciousness.

Does Ego Development Increase During Midlife? The Effects of Openness and Accommodative Processing of Difficult Events

Although Loevinger's model of ego development is a theory of personality growth, there are few studies that have examined age-related change in ego level over developmentally significant periods of adulthood. To address this gap in the literature, we examined mean-level change and individual differences in change in ego level over 18 years of midlife. In this longitudinal study, participants were 79 predominantly White, college-educated women who completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test in early (age 43) and late (age 61) midlife as well as measures of the trait of Openness (ages 21, 43, 52, and 61) and accommodative processing (assessed from narratives of difficult life events at age 52). As hypothesized, the sample overall showed a mean-level increase in ego level from age 43 to age 61. Additionally, a regression analysis showed that both the trait of Openness at age 21 and accommodative processing of difficult events that occurred during (as opposed to prior to) midlife were each predictive of increasing ego level from age 43 to age 61. These findings counter prior claims that ego level remains stable during adulthood and contribute to our understanding of the underlying processes involved in personality growth in midlife.

Leading complex change with post‐conventional consciousness

PurposeThis paper aims to document how leaders with a highly‐developed meaning‐making system design and engage in sustainability initiatives.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 32 leaders and change agents were assessed for their meaning‐making system, or action logic, using a variation of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test; 13 were identified as holding the three rarest and most complex action logics able to be measured. Semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews explored their behavior and actions as related to complex change initiatives.FindingsThese leaders appear to: design from a deep inner foundation, including grounding their work in transpersonal meaning; access non‐rational ways of knowing, and use systems, complexity, and integral theories; and adaptively manage through “dialogue” with the system, three distinct roles, and developmental practices. Fifteen leadership competencies and developmental stage distinctions for three dimensions of leadership were identified.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size leads to the findings being propositions that require further validation before broader generalization.Practical implicationsThe results provide the most granular view to date of how individuals with highly complex meaning‐making may think and behave with respect to complex change, offering potential insight into the future of leadership.Social implicationsThe study explores how to cultivate leadership with the capacity to address complex social, economic, and environmental challenges.Originality/valueThe paper documents 15 competencies that are largely new to the leadership literature, and that reflect the actions of leaders operating with highly sophisticated meaning‐making systems.

Counselor Cognitions: General and Domain‐Specific Complexity

Counselor cognitive complexity is an important factor in counseling efficacy. The Counselor Cognitions Questionnaire (L. E. Welfare, 2006) and the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (J. Loevinger & R. Wessler, 1970) were used to explore the nature of general and domain‐specific cognitive complexity. Counseling experience, supervisory experience, counselor education experience, and highest counseling degree completed were identified as significant predictors of counselor cognitive complexity. Implications for counselor education are discussed.

Promoting Ego Development and Multicultural Competence During Internship

This research involved an exploratory intervention to determine the effectiveness of using a deliberate psychological education (DPE) approach that incorporated issues of ethics, multicultural competence, oppression and diversity. The study attempted to discern if the DPE model used could make a difference in the promotion of ego development (which subsumes moral development) and multicultural knowledge and awareness of counselor interns. The intervention group showed significant gains compared to comparison groups in ego development as measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WSCT) (Loevinger 1985) as well as significant gains on the Knowledge subscale of the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS, Ponterotto et al. 2002).

Brief Report: The Role of Ego Development in Psychosocial Adjustment Among Boys With Delayed Puberty

This study examined the role of ego development, as measured with the Washington University sentence completion test, in the relationship between pubertal maturation and psychosocial adjustment (self‐image and depression) in adolescent boys. The data consisted of 73 boys between 14 and 16 years of age. The results indicated that late maturing boys were also psychologically more immature, and that they experienced negative feelings about sexuality. Additionally, higher ego development was associated with elevated levels of anxiety and depression among late maturing boys. In boys with average pubertal maturation, higher ego development was associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression.

Developing agile leaders

PurposeWith mounting complexity and interdependence and the increasing pace of change in organizational environments, leadership agility has become a much‐needed competency. This article aims to report research findings that appear in a new publication.Design/methodology/approachThe study on which this article is based included a total of 604 subjects. Of these, 384 were participants in previous research studies that identified each manager's “stage of ego development” as measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (SCT). The other 220 managers, who provided in‐depth case studies, were clients, interviewees, or evening MBA students, whose stage of ego development was also assessed.FindingsThis study identified five levels of leadership agility, each of which corresponds to a stage of adult ego development. It also resulted in the discovery of four leadership agility competencies (context‐setting, stakeholder, creative, and self‐leadership agility) and eight underlying capacities that evolve as managers develop from one level of leadership agility to another.Research limitations/implicationsFruitful areas for future research include: expanding knowledge about how leaders develop from one level of agility to another, identifying the competencies and capacities associated with the level beyond synergist, and better understanding the stages or levels of organizational development that parallel the levels of leadership agility.Practical implicationsThis research has significant implications for an “integral” approach to leadership development that places emphasis both on professional skills needed in complex, rapidly changing environments and on the mental and emotional capacities that underlie these skills.Originality/valueManagers and leadership development professionals both can benefit from the fresh perspective presented in this article.

Changes in ego development in the wake of September 11

In a longitudinal study using the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), we examined changes in ego development in response to the events of September 11, 2001. A sample of 24 individuals responded to the WUSCT in both the summer and fall of 2001, before and after the events of September 11. A significant decrease in mean ego level was found following September 11, as well as more equivocal support for an increase in variability in responses to the WUSCT.

Ego Development and Adolescent Academic Achievement

This study investigated ego developmental differences in adolescent academic orientations and academic achievement. A sample of 142 male and female high school students completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test and self‐report measures assessing academic locus of control, learning orientation (LO), and grade orientation (GO). With increasing ego development, adolescents demonstrated increased internal academic locus of control, stronger LOs, diminished GOs, and higher class rank. Regression analysis indicated that ego level was a significant predictor of academic achievement after controlling for the effects of verbal intelligence and gender. Implications for fostering academic success through theoretically relevant interventions are discussed.