The validation of a new scoring method for assessing ego development based on three dimensions of language

We describe research on the validity of a new theoretical framework and scoring methodology, called STAGES, for sentence completion tests of meaning-making maturity or complexity (also called ego development or perspective-taking capacity). STAGES builds upon research on the substantially validated Washington University Sentence Completion Test of Jane Loevinger as updated by Susanne Cook-Greuter. STAGES proposes an underlying structural explanation for the Cook-Greuter system based on three dimensions. Two of these are polar factors: individual/collective, and passive/active; and the third is a categorization of the sophistication of the types of objects referred to (i.e. as concrete, subtle/abstract, or "metaware"). We describe two validation studies for the STAGES scoring method and model. The first is a replication study of concurrent validity, using 73 inventories to test the hypothesis that the STAGES scoring method replicates the Cook-Greuter scoring method. Using the weighted Kappa statistic, we demonstrate a very strong match between the two methods, confirming the first hypothesis. This study includes levels up to and including Strategist (i.e. a substantial percentage of test-takers from most populations). Levels above Strategist were validated using another method because (1) there is less Cook-Greuter data available at these levels, and (2) the two scoring methods diverge sufficiently, making comparison difficult. The second study, of 71 inventories, attempts to validate the STAGES scoring method at levels above Strategist by testing the inter-rater reliability among four scorers. The inter-rater reliability above Strategist, using the weighted Kappa statistic, was found to be moderate to substantial, indicating that the instrument and scoring method has internal validity for these four, rare higher levels. Additionally, the inter-rater reliability over all STAGES levels were found to be very strong.