Self-authorship is a stage of adult development where the individual has extended beyond the need to be socialized among their community and has developed their own identity, ideologies, and beliefs which they hold fast to. Important theorists such as Robert Kegan and Marcia Baxter Magolda have contributed extensively to our understanding of self-authorship and its public recognition. Self-authorship has three primary parts, cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal dimensions. It also involves how individual's turn experiences into growth opportunities.
Guide Self-authorship is defined by Robert Kegan as an "ideology, an internal personal identity, that can coordinate, integrate, act upon, or invent values, beliefs, convictions, generalizations, ideals, abstractions, interpersonal loyalties, and intrapersonal states. It is no longer authored by them, it authors them and thereby achieves a personal authority."Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Self-authorship is only a single phase of development within the lifelong process of self-evolution. Instead of depending on external values, beliefs, and interpersonal loyalties, self-authorship relies on internal generation and coordination of one's beliefs, values and internal loyalties.Magolda, M. B. B., Meszaros, P. S., & Creamer, E. G. (Eds.). (2010). Development and Assessment of Self-Authorship : Exploring the Concept Across Cultures. Sterling, VA, USA: Stylus Publishing. This phase can often be seen at critical turning points in an individual's life, such as during education for a professional career.
Self-authorship spans over three dimensions: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. It is based on theory involving adult learning and gaining of knowledge with the product of self-authorship including learning and growth. The concept of the "object" and the concept of the "self" make up self-authorship. One is not born with self-authorship. There are steps to attain self-authorship which include following external formulas, then crossroads and eventually obtaining self-authorship. There are elements of self-authorship that include trusting the internal voice, building an internal foundation and securing internal commitments.
Not every experience allows us to work towards self-authorship. Developmentally effective experiences are what help guide us to self-authorship. These experiences allow for others to look at the world around them and search deep within themselves in order to develop their own opinions. It requires a heightened sense of self awareness as well as humility if you want to turn experiences into developmental ones. It does not matter if the experiences are positive or negative, developmental experiences are ones that change and that can be either. These influences and internal searching allows the individual to understand what their opinions are, why they have those opinions and how that opinion was formulated. In addition, these experiences allow for the person to rely on one's internal beliefs in order to make decisions.
Cultural factors play a role in the development of self-authorship. While identity dissonance is a catalyst in the development of self-authorship, for African Americans, relational dissonance is also involved. The addition of racial dissonance can create additional difficulties in the self-authorship process, as has been seen among Latino college students in the United States. Relational dissonance adds the additional question of "Who are we?" of one's identifying group to the question "Who am I?" asked as the result of identity dissonance. Multiple cultural factors including race, gender, and sexuality can all add additional complexity to developing self-authorship.
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 individual's 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, also known as the Imperial Mind. The individual has the ability to think in a more organized way. 6% of the adult population fall into this stage.
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. 58% of the adult population fall into this stage.
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. 35% of the adult population falls into this stage.
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. 1% of the adult population falls into this stage.
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 trusting one's internal voices, not on other's values and ideas.
Stage Four: Personal Foundation
In this stage individuals are grounded in who they are. The meaning they place on their relationship with themselves and with others which informs their belief systems.
Jordan B. Peterson
Clinical psychologist Jordan B. Peterson applied the concept of self-authoring in a therapeutic methodology. His writing system, the Self-Authoring Suite, attempts to apply self-analysis of one's personality and goals. The program was inspired in part by the work of JW Pennebaker who performed research that tested the effects of writing and the benefits of coming to conclusions and understanding regarding past experiences. Dr. Peterson also took inspiration from Laura A. King, who has published numerous studies focused on the advantages of writing about future life goals and/or positive life experiences.
In a 2009 study entitled "Personality and Language Use In Self-Narratives", Jacob B. Hirsh and Jordan B. Peterson facilitated and observed the self-authoring of undergraduate students as they participated actively in "past-authoring" (writing about significantly influential periods and events from one's past) and "future-authoring" (writing about one's goals, the environment and steps required to achieve them, and possible challenges).
Three dimensions of self-authorship Self-authorship consists of three dimensions: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. “Self-authored people employ complex cognitive processes of meaning-making in ways that recognize the socially constructed nature of knowledge (cognitive) while also keeping in mind their own beliefs, values, and goals (intrapersonal),” as well as those of others (interpersonal). Cognitive self-authorship focuses on the idea that the individual is responsible for their thoughts and beliefs rather than being influenced by external sources. As a result, learning becomes more open-ended and knowledge is seen as more contextual, rather than absolute. Interpersonal self-authoring revolves around how the individual views their relationships with others. A self-authoring mind is one that has relationships, but whose thoughts and behaviors are based on the individual’s beliefs rather than the beliefs of those with whom they associate. It draws from the earlier stages but expands upon them and is not limited by their modes of thinking. However this does not mean that people can revert to earlier stages, they are simply taking what they learned and applying it to their new stage. Intrapersonal self-authoring centers on the core values and beliefs that the individual possesses. Self-authorship encourages development of beliefs based on one’s own choices rather than simply imitating the beliefs/values of those around them. These original beliefs then serve as the foundation and standard to which the individual’s thoughts and actions are held.
Theoretical assumptions Self-authorship is grounded in two assumptions about adult learning and knowledge. The first assumption states people create knowledge by interpreting their personal experiences through what is known as constructivism. This focuses on the meaning that is made of the experience from an individual perspective. The second assumption is that self-authorship has an underlying structure that is developmental in nature. In other words, as one continues to mature, his or her self-authorship also continues to develop. How one organizes and identifies with his or her experiences continues to change.
Although many may think the products of continuous changes in self-authorship are an accumulation of knowledge, skills and information, this is not the case. The true products of continuous changes in self-authorship are learning and growth.
Relationships involved in self authorship Kegan developed a theory that is built on Piaget's stages of development. While Piaget's stages end at age 11, Kegan created a theory that continues into adulthood. His theory is known as the Subject-Object Theory. The relationship between "subject" and "object" are what make up self-authorship. Subject refers to the elements of organizing that one identifies with. It is inseparable from the self and the individual may be unaware of the behavior that is developed due to what they are subject to. Object refers to the information that gets organized. They are the elements that one can reflect on for future reference and accept responsibility for.