Kazimierz Dabrowski's five-level theory of personality development, the Theory of Positive Disintegration, is one in which the experience of all emotions is essential for the process of individual growth toward the personality ideal. In this article, we synthesize Dabrowski's conception of syntony and the development of empathy. We discuss the…

This study aimed to describe the implementation of the spiritual leadership of the monks in Catholic schools. The research method used is a descriptive qualitative approach. The research design used a multi-site study conducted at three Catholic Junior High Schools in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. Results show that in developing spiritual…

Some terms of Dabrowski's theory are misleading. The construct of level and the concepts of integration and disintegration mean different things. The concept of primary integration as a starting point for personality development is untenable in light of research on child development. In its place, Level I as a type of development that is…

A theory paper that gives a universal portrait of the "noble adolescent" directly quotes from Montessori. Pat Ludick defines the adolescent as they search for their future roles in a changing world, seek a happy life, form a compatible and collaborative personality, learn humility, and become aware of the head-heart duality. The…

Compassion may be directed at a broad range of targets. The present study investigated interrelations among other-directed compassion, self-compassion, and environmental compassion in early adolescence (age = 12-14; n = 256) and examined how the different manifestations of compassion related to age and sex during this age period. Dispositional…

These essays provide richer set of writings on the philosophical, empirical and practical issues raised by a focus on character, and in particular its relationship to questions of opportunity. Each one is an intellectual pemmican: sharp and to the point. Two scholars draw attention to the gendered nature of character formation (Segal and Lexmond);…

The purpose of this research paper is to explain or to show that there is a link between a child's temperament and the different parenting styles. The study explores and describes the different ways parents use to get their child to behave as they want. Some of these ways include power assertion and induction. Furthermore, it will demonstrate that…

In this article, we present vignettes from two projects--one in Cyprus and the other in South Africa--to show how some classrooms enact "heterotopic" affective spaces that oppose normal/ized identities, that is, identities grounded in polarized trauma narratives. The notion of heterotopia is a spatial concept developed by Foucault to…

This paper summarizes the author's research on the role of empathy in personality development. (Author)

Recent attempts to empirically validate psychoanalytic theory and its contemporary object relational constructs have turned to measuring the concepts with a variety of recently developed assessment scales. This paper reviews the 27 research studies which utilize instruments designed to assess object relations phenomena in subjects diagnosed with…

This study investigates the relationship between the degree of individuation in families and the personality development of adolescent family members. A subsample of 30 white, middle-class families were chosen for analysis from a larger sample of 99 families. Fifteen families from the subsample had adolescent girls who scored high, and fifteen had…

It is important for those working with the mentally retarded to encourage them to make their own decisions on the use of their leisure time. (JD)

Examined role of infant and toddler temperament in predicting 2-year olds' empathy. Found that children showed relatively more concern for mother's distress, but were also responsive to unfamiliar victims. Unreacting infants showing little affect also showed less empathy toward the unfamiliar adult almost two years later. Inhibition toward…

Describes higher levels of morality by contrasting Kohlber's Cognitive Developmentalism and Dabrowski's Positive Disintegration. It argues that far from being a gift, high-level morality is a function of the whole person. It is something chosen and striven for, and the result of compassion and some kind of disintegration. (Author/CR)

This paper deals with two specific issues: the explanation of moral conduct and the structure of moral character. The purpose of the paper is to describe a new psychological perspective on moral conduct, and to discuss some empirical findings which follow from this perspective. Morality is regarded here as a natural phenomenon which considers…