A constructive developmental approach to Tavistock Group Relations Conference learning: A narrative study

• Main Author: Silver, Junell S
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2001
• Subjects: Clinical psychology; Developmental psychology; Psychotherapy; Social psychology
• ISBN: 0493409793; 9780493409795

This study uses a constructive-developmental approach to explore self/other learning It investigates how orders of consciousness development (as assessed by Lahey et al.'s Subject Object Interview) affects the sense of identity and the processes of change and growth as these are manifested in the learning experience of participants attending a Tavistock Group Relations, Conference. This study of 22 volunteer research participants is composed of students (21) and faculty (1) in Organizational Development and Psychology doctoral programs. Participants completed two interviews: a clinical developmental Subject Object Interview (Lahey, Souvaine, Kegan, Goodman, and Felix, 1988) to assess orders of consciousness development and a semi-structured interview designed to reveal self/other learning experiences at the Conference. Analysis of participants' narratives of their meaningful learning experiences in this conference showed that what individuals learn reflects their preexisting level of subject-object development. What participants found meaningful were the experiences that changed their perspectives of self and others. The study describes the mechanisms through which individual growth and learning may occur and accounts for individual differences in that growth. It contributes to the theoretical understanding of self/other teaming processes at different levels of the subject/object balance and demonstrates the importance of epistemological capacity to those learning processes.