Introduction to Ego Development | Integral Life

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THE INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL EGO

INTRODUCTION TO EGO DEVELOPMENT

March 5th, 2007

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Susanne Cook-Greuter is an internationally recognized researcher in mature ego development and

self-actualization. You may have noticed her name alongside Robert Kegan's, Clare Graves', and Jane
Loevinger's in Ken's book, Integral Spirituality. Her sentence completion tests are sophisticated enough to
tease out the subtle differences between Teal, Turquoise, Indigo, and Violet altitudes of development. We
hope you enjoy the following video series, in which she explains her research on the increasing complexity
of the individual ego.

INTRODUCTION TO EGO DEVELOPMENT | In this video clip, Susanne Cook-Greuter lays down the
foundation for this series, discussing the roots for her mature adult development research. Based off the
work of Jane Loevinger and her background in linguistics theory, Cook-Greuter has developed the sentence
completion test, a test that measures an individual's center of gravity. Through her research, Susanne has
found that as one grows from stage to stage, a shift in perspective occurs. And this shift in perspective is
described as an increase in self awareness and the relationship one can take toward one's own experience.
STAGES 1 & 2: THE OPPORTUNIST AND THE DIPLOMAT | Suzanne discusses the first two stages of her
model, the Opportunist and the Diplomat. The Opportunist can be described as egocentric and self
protective, driven by an internal script that declares, "It's me against the world." The Diplomat stage is
described as ethnocentric, driven by the desire to be accepted, to belong, and to please. The Diplomat's
script is more evolved than the Opportunist, declaring, "It's not just me against the world. It is us against
them."
STAGE 3: THE EXPERT | The Expert stage is denoted by abstract thinking and the ability to see the self as
an object for the first time. In this cilp, Susanne Cook-Greuter describes how the individual at this stage
stresses their unique differences and is occupied by the need to compare themselves to others.
STAGE 4: THE ACHIEVER | This next stage, the Achiever, is comprised of roughly 30% of the adult
population in this culture. Susanne describes the individual at this stage as a self-authoring person who
knows they are in charge of their own being. The individual at the Achiever stage is focused on
independence, goals, reasons, causes, and contractual agreements with others.
STAGE 5: THE INDIVIDUALIST | In this video clip, Susanne describes this stage, the Individualist, as a
developmental milestone. At this stage, the individual makes a shift towards interiors, where at previous
levels the focus was on the exterior world. Common behaviors at this stage include starting to doubt,
wonder, and question conventional worldviews.
STAGES 6 & 7: THE STRATEGIST AND THE MAGICIAN (PART 1) | The move from Individualist to the
Strategist is a developmental leap where the individual is capable of seeing that different people are
stationed at different levels of development. Not only does the Strategist see that people span a continuum

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Introduction to Ego Development | Integral Life

http://integrallife.com/video/introduction-ego-development

of development, the Strategist also appreciates this continuum. In this video clip, Susanne discusses that
this stage is the first to employ a truly skillful means.
STAGES 6 & 7: THE STRATEGIST AND THE MAGICIAN (PART 2) | When the self system arrives at the
level of the Strategist and the Magician, they become aware of the power of language for the first time. In
this video clip, Susanne explains how individuals at this level are able to make more distinctions, which
produces more freedom precisely because more choices are available to the individual. But with this new
found freedom comes a new found burden, because another level of security is taken away.

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