Self-Transcendence in Life Stories and the Development of a Quiet Ego

1. Self-Transcendence in Life Stories and the Development of a Quiet Ego Jack Bauer, University of Dayton Dan P. McAdams, Northwestern University American Psychological Association Annual Convention New Orleans, August 2006

2. Noisy Ego v. Quiet Ego • Noisy ego is defensive • Defends a restricted perception of self • Routinely self-protective or defending in-group • Concerned with status, approval, appearances • Quiet ego is not (so) defensive • Applies broad self-other vision to context • Routinely open to experience & viewpoints • Concerned with underlying meaning & process

3. Noisy Ego Quiet Ego Quiet Ego & Ego DevelopmentAdapted from Loevinger (1976, 1993)

4. Life Stories and Growth • Life story • Identity in narrative form • Story of what’s meaningful in one’s life • Growth story • Life story that places meaning in development • Learning/insight growth stories & ED: r = .41 - .66 • Self-transcendence: Quiet-ego kind of growth

5. Transcendence in Growth Stories • Transcendent Insight • Identify with heightened knowledge of self as unified with others, society, humanity, spirituality • “Greater vision,” “bigger picture” • Transcendent Experience • Identify with deepened sense of self as unified with others, society, humanity, spirituality • “Felt connected / bonded / one with”

6. Examples of Transcendent Insight • “My first trip to Europe… Things changed. I became a bird freed from a cage… I had seen the enlarged panorama [of my life] from the peak” • “I was by the lake at night…. I was able to formulate all my values and beliefs into one comprehensive system…. At that moment I understood and more importantly felt my relationship with the rest of the living world”

7. Method • Participants • T1: Freshmen & Seniors (n = 145) • T2: 3 years later (n = 87) • Ego Development (T1 & T2): WUSCT • Well-Being (T1 & T2): SWLS • Narratives (T1): High, low, turning points • Coded for transcendent insight & experience

8. .25* .24** EDT1 T–InsightT1 EDT2 .18 Findings: Transcendence & ED • Transcendent Insight at Time 1 correlated… • with ED at T1: r = .25* • with ED at T2 (3 yrs. later): r = .29** *p < .05 **p < .01 • Transcendent Experience and ED: p’s > .10

9. Quiet Ego and Happiness • ED does not correlate with well-being • Yet many quiet-ego qualities correlate w/ well-being • Experiential growth stories & WB: r = .36 - .54 • Transcendent experience?

10. WBT1 .40*** WBT2 T–Exp.T1 .27** Findings: Transcendence & WB • Transcendent Experience at Time 1 and… • WB at T1: r = .23* • WB at T2 (3 yrs. later): r = .35** *p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001 • Transcendent Insight and WB: p’s > .10

11. Conclusions • The quiet ego uses self-transcendence to construct life story • Narrative self-transcendence has developmental implications for quiet ego • Narratives foster personality development? • Intentional self-development of a quiet ego? • Cognitive and experiential facets of QE

12. April Sakaeda Jen Pals Steven Barger Douglas Robinette Lindsay Richerson Julie Adelman Brooke Smith Richard Schloe Foley Family Foundation Templeton Foundation Thanks