Lanning, Kevin

Lopez, Daniel C

Pauletti, Rachel E

English

Lynn University: SPIRAL (Scholarly Publications, Institutional Repository and Archives at Lynn)

`Rachel Pauletti1Daniel Lopez2Kevin Lanning21L:ynn University, 2Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic UniversityComputational Ego LevelLarge data and new methods illuminate the construct of ego developmentIntroductionEgo level has been called the "master trait," second onlyto intelligence in its importance for understandingindividual differences in personality (Loevinger, 1966, p.205). Ego level is typically assessed using one of severalversions of the Washington University SentenceCompletion Test (WUSCT; Hy & Loevinger, 1996). TheWUSCT has been described as the most thoroughlyvalidated projective measure of personality (Lilienfeld,Wood, & Garb, 2000). Because the construct of ego levelis assessed by the analysis of samples of speech, andbecause the relationship between these speech samplesand the construct has been extensively validated, egolevel is an attractive candidate for applying computationalor corpus linguistic methods. In this project, weexamine the relationship between language use andego level.Data include both exemplars (responses scanned from the1996 Manual) and empirical responses. Empiricalresponses were collected over the course of variousprojects from 1989 to 2014. These projects used eitherthe 18-item or 36-item version of the WUSCT. Theanalyses presented here include all data. The overallsample is large (167,325 words). A complete descriptionof data cleaning and preparation of text can be found athttp://rpubs.com/kevinlanning/egolevel0915.Data CharacteristicsLanguage at Different Levels of Ego DevelopmentFeatures of Ego LevelsFigure 1. Words in purple are words most characteristic of each ego level (Impulsive though Highest). Words in green are words emergent at each ego level. Words in red are words less frequently used in the subsequent stage than the previous one.The Sentence Completion TestThe Washington University Sentence Completion Test(WUSCT) is an 18- or 36-item measure which asksparticipants to respond to a series of stems (e.g., “Rulesare”, “A woman’s place”) by completing the sentence.Responses are coded using a scoring manual (Hy &Loevinger, 1996) and scores are rendered on a scale ofone to nine, with each number representing a differentstage of ego development. Individuals at the lower stages(e.g., Impulsive) are thought to be preoccupied with sex,manipulation, and self-serving behaviors. Individuals inthe middle stages (Conformist) respect rules and feel aneed to adhere to social norms. Individuals at the higheststages (Integrated) are thought to be reflective,autonomous, and realistic.In terms of language use, each stage appears qualitatively distinct from the previous one.• At the Impulsive stage, all but a few of the most common words deal with sex, aggression, and/orbiological functions.• At the Self-protective stage, the concern with biological functions is still present, but more muted, and isdescribed increasingly in appetitive and sensory terms rather than in terms of consummation or drive-reduction. An emergent theme is that of abandonment or loss.• At the Conformist stage, characteristic language is social, descriptive of persons or simple rules. People areseen in largely dichotomous terms, as adhering to social norms or violating them.• At the Self-Aware stage, an emergent theme is language which suggests a questioning not just of the selfbut of the broader social system, and a questioning of a Just World.• At the Conscientious stage, most of the characteristic terms appear concerned with achievementmotivation. “Openness” also appears here, as well as related terms indicating optimism and a broadenedscope of social concern.• At the Individualistic stage, the most important group of terms is concerned with human development.• At the highest stages, the most important themes are identity, perspective-taking, the resolution of goal-striving, the concern for human equality and, finally, probabilistic reasoning.DiscussionThese analyses illustrate the complexity of languageand ego level. But, more importantly, theydemonstrate that language is a useful tool forcharacterizing development. One potentialapplication of this project would be to develop a“dictionary” of sorts that would characterizeindividuals at various stages of psychosocialdevelopment and apply that dictionary tomodern texts, such as political speeches,autobiographies, and social media posts. Morework is needed before this “dictionary” can bedeveloped, such as analyses of texts beyond theWUSCT and data from additional samples.Impulsive Self-Protective Conformist Self-Aware Conscientious Individualistic Highest

Computational Ego Level: Large Data and New Methods Illuminate the Construct of Ego Development

https://spiral.lynn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1365&amp;context=facpubs

Computational Ego Level: Large Data and New Methods Illuminate the Construct of Ego Development

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