Human beings are patterning creatures. It’s what we do. Put a group of homo sapiens in a new environment, and pretty soon we’re seeing shapes and groupings and inventing explanations for them.
In essence, that is what developmental stage theories are: descriptions of patterns. That is true of almost any psychological or sociological descriptor, like, say, the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, which offers sixteen characteristic groupings of personality traits. But put a group of 21st century post-modern homo sapiens in a room with developmental stage theories and the MBTI, and some number of individuals will protest, “Labels! They’re merely labels! They objectify me! I hate being objectified!” It never fails. [Read more…] about Hunting Sasquatch #2: Developmental Stages and the NDE Forest