Shadow Work in Support of the Adult Developmental Journey

142 Pages·2017·1.09 MB·English

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Educational Studies Dissertations Graduate School of Education (GSOE)
2014
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Robin Gregory McLaughlin
Lesley University
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SHADOW WORK IN SUPPORT OF THE ADULT DEVELOPMENTAL JOURNEY

A DISSERTATION
Submitted by
Robin Gregory McLaughlin, BA, MA, MA

In partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
School of Education

LESLEY UNIVERSITY
September 20, 2014

Terrence Keeney, PhD, Chair Richard McGuigan, PhD Nancy Popp, EdD
© 2014 by Robin G. McLaughlin
All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. i
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii
Chapter I: Background and Context ...............................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................6
Wicked problems .........................................................................................7
Adult learning and development ................................................................10
Shadow .......................................................................................................14
Research Question .................................................................................................15
Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................16
Significance and Rationale ....................................................................................16
Chapter II: Literature Review ........................................................................................19
Adult Learning Theories ........................................................................................19
Experiential learning ..................................................................................20
Self-directed learning .................................................................................24
Andragogy..................................................................................................26
Four Territories and four quadrants ...........................................................27
Summary ....................................................................................................31
Adult Development ................................................................................................32
Stage theories .............................................................................................33
Constructive-developmental theory ...........................................................33
Immunity to Change ..................................................................................40
Concentration of energy .............................................................................42
Summary ....................................................................................................44
Shadow ...................................................................................................................45
Repression ..................................................................................................46
Projection ...................................................................................................47
Reintegration ..............................................................................................48
Shadow and energy ....................................................................................49
Horizontal Learning and Vertical Development ....................................................50
Vertical development .................................................................................52
Horizontal development .............................................................................53
Influence of shadow on horizontal learning and vertical development .....54
Summary ................................................................................................................57
Chapter III: Research Design .........................................................................................59
Qualitative Paradigm .............................................................................................59
Population and Sample ..........................................................................................60
Ethical Considerations ...........................................................................................61
Data Collection ......................................................................................................63
Analysis of Data .....................................................................................................65
Credibility and Quality ..........................................................................................66
Chapter IV: Presentation of Findings ............................................................................67
Immunity to Change Process .................................................................................68
Commitment goal.......................................................................................69
Doing or not doing .....................................................................................71
Worry and fears..........................................................................................72
Competing commitment.............................................................................73
Big Assumption .........................................................................................74
The ITC process experience.......................................................................77
Shadow Work, Adult Development and Adult Learning .......................................78
The shadow work experience .....................................................................78
Understanding of shadow ..........................................................................79
Shadow, parents, and the Big Assumption ................................................80
Projection and attribution ...........................................................................83
The Self and shadow ..................................................................................84
Shadow and adult development .................................................................86
Shadow and adult learning .........................................................................88
Summary ................................................................................................................89
Chapter V: Interpretation of Findings and Discussion ................................................91
Shadow and Adult Development .......................................................................................93
Energy release resulting from a change in one’s relationship to a
characterological disposition. ...........................................................................93
Horizontal learning in support of vertical development ........................................96
Shadow work to release energy .............................................................................99
Shadow and Adult Learning ............................................................................................100
Implication in Complex and Conflictual Environments ..................................................103
Strengths of the Study ......................................................................................................105
Study Limitations .............................................................................................................106
Future Research ...............................................................................................................107
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................108
References .......................................................................................................................110
Appendix A: Participant Invitation .............................................................................125
Appendix B: Informed Consent Form .........................................................................126
Appendix C: Interview Questions ................................................................................130
List of Figures and Tables
Figure 1: Wilber’s AQAL Model ......................................................................................30
Figure 2: Developmental Line with Stages ........................................................................31
Figure 3: Horizontal and Vertical Development ................................................................51
Figure 4: Influence of Shadow ...........................................................................................55
Figure 5: ITC Process Worksheet ......................................................................................69
Figure 6: Pat’s ITC Process Worksheet .............................................................................76
Table 1: Torbert’s Four Territories ....................................................................................28
Table 2: Kegan’s Developmental Stages ...........................................................................38
Table 3: Examples of Developmentally Informed Language ............................................38
Table 4: ITC Process Sequence .........................................................................................41
Table 5: Race and Gender ..................................................................................................61
Table 6: Commitment Goal ...............................................................................................70
Table 7: Doing or Not Doing .............................................................................................71
Table 8: Worries and Fears ................................................................................................73
Table 9: Competing Commitments ....................................................................................74
Table 10: Big Assumption .................................................................................................75
Table 11: Ways Participants Experienced ITC Exercise ...................................................77
Table 12: Ways Participants Experienced Shadow Work .................................................79
Table 13: Understanding of Shadow..................................................................................80
Table 14: Ways Experienced Parents ................................................................................81
Table 15: As Adult, In Response to Parent ........................................................................82
Table 16: Projection and Attribution .................................................................................83
Table 17: Learned About Self and Shadow .......................................................................84
Table 18: ITC Shadow Work Experience ..........................................................................86
Table 19: Biggest Changes Noticed About Self ................................................................87
Table 20: Interactions with Others .....................................................................................88
Table 21: Influenced as Adult Learner ..............................................................................89
Table 22: Repressed Aspect ...............................................................................................90
Table 23: Shadow Reintegration Sequence .......................................................................92
i

Acknowledgments

This study would not have been possible without the generosity of the study participants.
Even though the participants were busy students managing many demands, they graciously
volunteered their valuable time to share their story and experience. Thank you.
This study would not have been possible without the challenge, support, and the
extensive time offered by the members of my doctoral committee:
Terrence Keeney, PhD, Chair;
Richard McGuigan, PhD; and
Nancy Popp, EdD.
They were always available to provide guidance, conversation, and feedback. Thank you.
This study would not have been possible without good friends. Thank you, Barbara and
Rick, for being there to listen and provide support and feedback. Richard, you have walked
beside me on this phase of my life journey; thank you, mentor and friend.
Finally, this study would not have been possible without the love and support of my wife
Rhonda, our daughter Jessica and son-in-law Mark, and our daughter Shelby and son-in-law
Nathan. Despite busy lives and their own journeys, they were always there to help me through.
Thank you.
Your support made all the difference. Thank you, and blessings upon you.
ii

Abstract
In his book, In over our heads: the mental demands of modern life, Kegan (1994) has suggested
that the average level of adults’ thinking is more complex today than at previous times in history.
This is due, in part, to our increased lifespans, which have enabled complex thinking to evolve
and emerge. However, Kegan has also suggested that the demands of the social environment are
expanding much faster than the average complexity of adult thinking and learning. In Kegan’s
terms, we are “in over our heads.” Using a semi-clinical, semi-structured, qualitative interview
with twenty adult learners, this study investigated the role of shadow work, employed after
Kegan and Lahey’s (2009) Immunity to Change (ITC) process in support of the adult
developmental journey. Shadow work refers to one or more processes that a person may use to
uncover, or bring to awareness, repressed aspects of Self. The data analysis suggests that
horizontal learning—becoming more whole through shadow work—may support vertical
development, or increased complexity. Specifically, shadow work, employed after the ITC
process, may support the adult developmental journey in three important ways. First, shadow
work may result in a release of energy by changing one’s relationship to what Kegan and Rogers
(1991) have referred to as “a characterological disposition” (p. 138). The highly individualized
characterological disposition may be psychologically created within a person through the
influence of that individual’s childhood holding environment (social environment). Second,
shadow work may support horizontal learning, which may in turn support vertical development.
Finally, the unrealized energy that may be released by shadow work may catalyze increasing
developmental complexity.
Further, the data analysis suggests that shadow work, following the ITC process, may influence
the adult learner’s relationship to the characteristics of andragogy. Shadow work, in support of