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Ego development and conformity: a construct validity study of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test
1Washington University, USA.
Journal of Personality Assessment
|October 1, 1977
Summary
Ego development and conformity show a curvilinear relationship, with maximum conformity observed between the Self-Protective and Conscientious Stages. This finding partially supports Loevinger
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Loevinger's ego development theory posits a complex relationship with social conformity.
- Previous research has not consistently demonstrated this predicted curvilinear association.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predicted curvilinear relationship between ego development and conformity.
- To examine conformity using multiple measurement methods.
Main Methods:
- 107 private school boys (grades 8, 9, 11) participated.
- Measures included self-report, peer nomination, and experimental (Willis) conformity tests.
- Archival data (demerits) and sentence completion tests for ego development were used.
Main Results:
- Self-report and archival conformity measures peaked between the Self-Protective and Conscientious ego development stages.
- No significant impact of age or IQ on the observed relationship.
- The Willis test and peer ratings showed methodological limitations.
Conclusions:
- Partial confirmation of Loevinger's ego development theory regarding conformity.
- Conformity is not a unitary construct, varying across different measurement approaches.
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