20th Century Background for Integral Psychology

Susanne Cook-GreuterArticle, Cognitive, Psychology, Psychology

This paper introduces Integral Psychology (IP) as a mature embrace to the question of what is human nature and how do we best explore it. Historically, wave after wave of various trends and movements have attempted to give psychology a focus and scientific status. After decades of specialization and segmentation (APA has over 50 divisions), IP aims at a mature synthesis of the field. IP mines and integrates the lasting contributions to our understanding of human nature and potential from all psychological schools of thought, disciplinary divisions, and methods of investigation—paying attention to both research and applications. In this paper I explore six of the major historical predecessors to IP: behaviorism, psychoanalysis, humanistic-existential, transpersonal, constructivist-developmental, and positive psychology.

About Susanne Cook-Greuter

Dr. Susanne Cook-Greuter is a world-renowned expert in mature adult development and self-actualization who expanded on Loevinger's work to create the Ego Development Theory (EDT), also known as the Leadership Maturity Framework (LMF). Over her 45-year career, she specialized in the Integral Sentence Completion Test (SCTi-MAP), training and certifying scorers since the early 1980s. Prompted by Bill Torbert at Boston College, she began applying this assessment tool to coaching, eventually co-developing global training programs in the 2000s to bring developmental perspectives into corporations. Though now retired, her foundational research powers many modern leadership services, and her list of certified associates can be found at www.cook-greuter.com.