Stages of Human Development

Dr. Clare W. Graves was a professor of psychology at Union College. He was a specialist in the theory of personality and its application to industrial and medical problems. He held that human behavior can be broken down into seven patterns, or levels of existence. His theory suggested that every person falls somewhere between level one, a human vegetable, and level seven, the highest form. This information was first published in the Harvard Business Review in 1966, the theory attracted wide attention and Prof. Graves became the subject of numerous magazines and newspaper articles.

One of my favorite quotes from Prof. Graves follows:

“Each successive stage, wave, or level of existence is a state through which people pass on their way to other states of being. When the human is centralized in one state of existence, he or she has a psychology which is particular to that state. His or her feelings, motivations, ethics and values, biochemistry, degree of neurological activation, learning systems, belief systems, … education, economics, and political theory and practice are all appropriate to that state.”

Research has now shown that humans can move from one stage to another through certain transformative practices. This is how we grow and develop.

Be well.