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Leading Theorists of Self-Authorship
Robert Kegan

Robert Kegan’s work was inspired by Jean Piaget's "Theory of Cognitive Development". Kegan identified that Piaget’s research did not include the emotion of an individuals personal development.

To address this gap, Kegan conducted research that informed his 1994 theory of the “Evolution of Consciousness”. Kegan named five progressions that a person would move through when transitioning from stable environments to unstable environments. Each unstable environment has the ability to progress the individual from one stage to the next.

Kegan identified each progression, using three different titles throughout his research. The most recent naming convention is “Forms of Mind” (2000). The Forms of Mind follow this order:

Order 0: Newborn - 18 months old. Infants live in an object-less world, until they begin to recognize their surroundings.

Order 1: Occurs at approximate two years old when the child understands that they can control their body's reflexes.

Order 2: Instrumental Mind. The individual has the ability to think in a more organized way.

Order 3: Socialized Mind. Ability to understand how they process emotion and become committed to the people and guiding beliefs that make up their community.

Order 4: Self-Authoring Mind. Individual has the ability to self-regulate and looks for relationships that benefit themselves and others. These relationships become important as the individual looks to their relationships as a way to continually develop.

Order 5: Self-Transforming Mind. When conducting research, Kegan found that many adults did not reach this stage and those who did, did not reach Order 5 until the age of 40 years old.

Marcia Baxter Magolda

Self-authorship, as defined by Marcia Baxter Magolda's research focused on the epistemological development of college students to identify six guiding assumptions informing her development model. As one continues to distance themselves from depending on external authorities for beliefs, identities and social relationships, self authorship begins to evolve. There are four stages that guide the progression to self-authorship:

Stage One: Following External Formulas

Those in this stage rely on external formulas for what one believes, how to construct one's identity and how to guide social relationships.

Stage Two: Crossroads

This is a transitional period. In this period, one is in between relying on external formulas and achieving self-authorship. The conflict people in this stage are experiencing is between the values they develop that are integral to the sense of self and the demands they experience in their roles and relationships with others.

Stage Three: Self-Authorship

Robert Kegan first named self-authorship, as the individuals "shift of meaning-making capacity from outside the self to inside the self". Stage three, is the pinnacle of the evolution of self-authorship. In this stage, one is able to be unique and express their internal authority. One has strength to stand apart from the mainstream. One's responsibility lies in interpreting experiences based not on other's values and ideas but trusting one's internal voices.

Stage Four: Personal Foundation

In this stage individuals are grounded in who they are and the meaning they place on their relationship with themselves and with others which informs their belief systems.

Three Elements of Self Authorship
Following a 21 year study, Marcia Baxter Magolda designed the three elements of self-authorship by studying constructivist interviews, to dissect the narratives of young adults in the age range of 18 years old to 39 years old.

Trusting the Internal Voice

By trusting the internal voice, the individual better understand their reality and their reaction to their reality. By using internal voice as a way to shape reactions to external events, confidence in using personal beliefs and values magnifies their "ability to take ownership of how they ma[k]e meaning of external events".

Building an Internal Foundation

The individual consciously works to create an internal foundation to guide reactions to reality. One does this by combining one's identity, relationships, beliefs and values into a set of internal commitments from which to act upon.

Securing Internal Commitments

Baxter Magolda described this shift as a "crossing over", where the individuals core beliefs become a "personal authority" , which they act upon.