Reprise: Love and Development

Correcting for agentic bias in traditional theories, an attempt has been made to include stages of communion development within a comprehensive model of lifespan psychosocial development. Expanding upon Erikson's [1950, 1968] model, each stage of psychosocial development has been presented in terms of both its agency and its communion developments. Transformations in interpersonal relating across the life cycle have been presented, along with the specific communion needs which facilitate development at each stage. Moreover, it has been shown that at each point in the life cycle agentic and communal pathways are intricately related, directly affecting each other's development. What emerges is a model of personality development which attempts to account for both individuation and connectedness, as well as their interaction across the life span.

Within this context, an important endeavor here has been the delineation of a stage model of communion development. It has been shown that the critical tasks and needs of each stage of the life cycle lead to the development of new, qualitatively different forms of interpersonal connectedness. Each transformation in communion subsumes and builds upon previous developments and is significantly determined by the adequacy of those developments.

The infant who receives adequate responsiveness becomes capable of incorporative bonding. If the toddler's self-assertions are met with acceptance, this bonding is transformed into a sense of secure attachment. The preschooler who is met with appropriate attention becomes capable of interactive association. The school child's need for approval then facilitates the emergence of true social relatedness. The young adolescent transforms social relatedness into conformity-oriented affiliation. If affiliative needs are met, the older adolescent develops more differentiated belongingness. With adequate experiences of belonging, the individual becomes able to engage in the mutuality of intimacy. The adult who experiences interpersonal reciprocity attains a higher awareness of communal interdependence. Finally, the aging adult who deals with losses within the context of continued companionships faces mortality with a sense of interpersonal acceptance.

On the other hand, each stage has its own qualitatively different estrangement based on unmet interpersonal needs. Without adequate responsiveness the infant withdraws. Lack of acceptance in the toddler years leads to fear of abandonment. During the preschool years, inadequate or inappropriate attention results in egocentric disregard. Lacking adequate experiences of approval, the school child remains self-insistent and self-centered. Without adequate affiliation, the young adolescent suffers from the devastating effects of exclusion. Failing to experience belongingness, the older adolescent suffers from a sense of alienation. Without experiences of intimacy, the young adult is left with a sense of isolation and loneliness. Lacking experiences of reciprocity, the middleaged adult becomes interpersonally impoverished and constricted. Without companionship, the older adult experiences relational distress and despair in facing mortality.

In general, individuals emerge out of each functional stage attaining some balance between new forms of connectedness and the effects of impeding estrangements, including some degree of both poles. Moreover, each new stage provides opportunities for reintegrating previous stages and overcoming deficits within the context of new, more gratifying relationships.

These resolutions not only affect general interpersonal interactions, but also shape the quality of dyadic love relationships. Those who remain at earlier stages of communion development will manifest what White et al., [1986; see also White et al., this volume] describe as a lower-level, self-focused, egocentric, self-serving form of relatedness in their marriages. Those who attain adequate affiliation and belongingness, but stop short of full intimacy, will manifest what White et al. [1986] describe as a role-focused, tradition-bound, conformist orientation to their marriage. Those who attain the higher developments of intimacy and interdependence will manifest an 'individuatedconnected' relationships pattern, including the ability to integrate conflicting needs and value partners for their unique qualities [White et al., 1986]. Thus, this model of communion development not only depicts a broader interpersonal picture, but also explains variations in specific relationships from a developmental perspective.

Furthermore, in emphasizing the relationship of this communion model to agentic development, a more integrated understanding of development emerges. Moreover, it is possible to transcend the myopic polarization of male-female sex differences in favor of perceiving the universality of agency and communal pathways and their continuous interaction throughout the life cycle. Although there may be some gender differences in the orientation to agency and communion, both men and women are consistently involved with both agentic, individuated action and communal, interpersonal relatedness at every developmental stage. Therefore, a comprehensive model of human development must include both agency and communion pathways.

Summary

Correcting for agentic bias in traditional theories, this theoretical conceptualization of life-span psychosocial development provides a model of communion development and describes its relationship with agency development. Expanding Erikson's theory, developmental stages are described in terms of (1) the transformations in interpersonal relating characteristic of each stage, (2) the communion need which motivates and facilitates development and (3) the dialectic interaction between agentic individuation and communal connectedness, and their role in development. This presentation integrates various relevant theoretical and empirical findings in an attempt to provide a more comprehensive understanding of development which includes both agency and communion themes.

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