The Postconventional Personality: Assessing, Researching, and Theorizing Higher Development

Cutting edge volume devoted to optimal adult development.

Postconventional stages of personality development involve growth well beyond the average, and have become a rapidly growing subject of research not only in developmental psychology circles, but also in areas such as executive leadership development. The present work is the first to bring together many of the major researchers in the field, showcasing diverse perspectives ranging from the spiritual to the corporate. The contributors present research on essential questions about the existence and prevalence of high levels of personal growth, whether such achievement is correlated with other kind of psychological growth, whether high levels of growth actually indicate happiness, what kinds of people exhibit these higher levels of development, how they may have developed this expanded perspective, and the characteristics of their viewpoints, abilities, and preoccupations. For anyone interested in Ken Wilber's integral psychology as well as those in executive coaching, this volume is an invaluable resource and will be a standard reference for years to come.

Angela H. Pfaffenberger has a PhD in psychology and is an independent researcher in personality theory. She maintains a private practice as a psychotherapist and acupuncturist in Salem, Oregon. Paul W. Marko has a PhD in psychology from Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. He is a developmental psychologist who works with both organizations and individuals. Allan Combs is Professor of Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. His many books include Consciousness Explained Better: Towards an Integral Understanding of the Multifaceted Nature of Consciousness.