Psychosocial and Identity Development Theories: Chickering

Chickering’s Theory of Identity Development
First outlined in book Education and Identity;  based on research from 1959-1965; initially targeted faculty, only later realized benefit to student affairs; 7 vectors; students move through vectors at different rates and vectors can interact with each other and students can reexamine issues with vectors they have previously passed through; not necessarily sequential, but do build off of one another; takes into account emotional, interpersonal, ethical, and intellectual aspects of development; Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Inventory (SDTLI) used to assess students

1.    Developing Competence – intellectual (getting knowledge and skills related to subject matter), physical (athletic/recreational activities, attention to wellness, and involvement in artistic and manual activities), and interpersonal competence (communication, leadership, and working with others); with all three build confidence handle situations
2.    Managing Emotions – develop ability to recognize and accept emotions and appropriately express and control them; negative and positive emotions
3.    Moving Through Autonomy to Interdependence – increased emotional independence; self-direction, problem-solving ability, and mobility; recognize and accept importance of interdependence (awareness of interconnectedness with others); basically “freedom from continual and pressing needs for reassurance, affection, or approval from others”
4.    Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships – development of intercultural and interpersonal tolerance and appreciation of differences; also capacity for healthy and lasting intimate relationships with partners and close friends
5.    Establishing Identity – comfort with body and appearance, gender and sexual orientation, sense of one’s social and cultural heritage, clear self-concept and comfort with one’s roles and lifestyle, a secure sense of self in response to feedback from others, self-acceptance and self-esteem, and personal ability and integration
6.    Developing Purpose – developing clear vocational goals, making meaningful commitments to specific personal interests and activities, and establishing strong interpersonal commitments; includes intentionally making and staying with decisions even in face of opposition; lifestyle and family influences affect the decision-making and goal-setting processes involved in this
7.    Developing Integrity – 3 sequential overlapping stages; humanizing values, personalizing values, and developing congruence; students progress from rigid, moralistic thinking to a more humanized value system in which interests of others are balanced with one’s own interests; next a personalized value system is established in which core values are consciously made and beliefs of others are acknowledged and respected; developing congruence deals with values and actions becoming harmonious as self-interest and a sense of social responsibility is balanced

~ Very detailed theory that covers overall identity development. I think this would work with every identity separately. So, technically you could be in a different stage for every identity you are in. This would kind of explain the way people act differently in different situations, because in a each situation a different identity would take precedence and, depending what stage you are in your actions and reactions would be different.

Environmental influences also play huge role:
1.    Institutional objectives – clear, specific objectives that personnel follow for programs and services lead to greater consistency in policies, programs, and practices and show values of institution; students and others can then agree with or challenge these values
2.    Institutional size – participation in campus life and enjoyment of college experience are needed for development to occur; opportunities for participation must be proportionate to number of students
3.    Student-faculty relationships – interaction between faculty and students helps development; students need to see faculty doing different things; it helps students to view faculty as accessible and interested in them outside of the classroom
4.    Curriculum – needs to be relevant; aware of individual differences, with many perspectives and helpful for students to understand what they are learning; process by which students learn has just as much impact as curriculum content
5.    Teaching – needs to involve active teaching, student-faculty interaction, timely feedback, high expectations, respect for individual learning differences; affects cognitive development in form of active thinking and integration of ideas; encourage interdependence, cooperation and interpersonal sensitivity
6.    Friendships and student communities – friendships and diverse student communities that have a shared interest and meaningful interactions help growth on all seven vectors
7.    Student development programs and services – joint efforts by faculty and student affairs professionals needed to provide developmental programs and services
8.    Integration of work and learning – (added by Chickering and Reisser in 1993); collaborative relationships needed between business, community, and schools that maximize developmental potential of work and volunteer experiences since most students work and take classes
9.    Recognition and respect for individual differences – (added by Chickering and Reisser in 1993); must be aware of differenct backgrounds and needs of their students and adjust interactions and interventions to respond to those differences
10.    Acknowledgement of the cyclical nature of learning and development – (added by Chickering and Reisser 1993); learning has periods of differentiations and integration, equilibrium and disequilibrium; new experiences and challenges give opportunities for new perspectives and better understanding to happen

~ Environmental influences are something I might need to consider while forming my theory.

Differences for:
1.    Women’s Development – interpersonal relationships plays much larger role than in men; development of mature relationships may happen sooner for them and autonomy later than
2.    Development of Students from Various Racial and Ethnic Groups – racial and ethnic identity development important for them; role of assimilation, acculturation, and cultural awareness needs to be considered; developing independence and autonomy occur in context of interpersonal relationships; family and extended family have big influence; perhaps adjust better at HBCUs bc isolation and loneliness affect making interpersonal relationships on predominantly white campuses
3.    Development of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students – almost no research done for this area; possibly development of sexual identity may slow other parts of psychosocial development
4.    Factors Related to Development – confidence in academic ability; involvement on campus; previous life experiences; career commitment

~ This is what I want to stay away from. I think that once you add in so many extra factors that it makes a theory so bulky that it’s unusable. I think theories need to be understandable and BRIEF!

From: Student Development in College.