DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

stable structures, by the assimilation of energy, information and matter from
elsewhere. Piaget postulated a process within living beings that actively drives
development toward these higher states of complexity and called it the “marche vers
l’équilibre” or “march towards equilibrium” (Piaget, 1967).
Developmental equilibrium is always temporary, for new information, energy
and/or matter gets introduced into an open system, and throws it out of kilter. It is this
temporary nature of equilibrium that makes it a driving force for development, as
there is no point of arrival and improvement is always possible. Cognitive or
affective equilibrium is inevitably overturned as new information from the world is
assimilated that contradicts or extends what was previously known. In order to
accommodate the new information, a higher level of equilibrium must be sought to
accommodate the new information and the new understandings. For Piaget, the
search for equilibrium is synonymous with activity – all action, thought and feeling is
a part of the search for the elusive goal of balance (Piaget, 1967).
While a person is developing, the social and physical systems of which he or
she is a part will also be developing, and the interplay of these dynamics over time is
mutually formative – individuals influence social development and vice versa. While
we may be singular and whole individuals, we are also parts of larger systems, and so
are “embedduals” (Kegan, 1982). Social and ecological systems develop by way of
differentiation and integration, just like human beings, and on this higher scale we are
the parts that must be differentiated and then integrated into groups and systems.
Leonie Sugarman, in her book on life span development, uses a graphic analogy of a
river to describe the incessant mutual shaping of person and environment throughout
the lifelong course of development:
“An informative metaphor sometimes used to depict the life course is the image of a
river. A river, whilst having a force and momentum of its own, is also shaped and
modified by the terrain over which it flows. In turn, the river exerts its own influence
on its surroundings. Indeed, it is somewhat artificial to separate the river from its
habitat; a more accurate picture is obtained when they are considered as a single unit.
Nonetheless, for ease and clarity of conceptual analysis they may be treated as
separate entities. The results of such investigations only reveal their full meaning,
however, when returned to the wider perspective of the river + surrounding units. So
it is with the individual life course. We can concentrate our attention on either the
person or the environment as the focus of the developmental dynamic. However, we
will gain only an incomplete picture of life span development unless we also consider
the interactions between the two.” (Sugarman, 1986, pp.6-7)
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