Cycles of Development

Pamela Levin
The cycles of
development
theory was
developed by
Pamela Levin
(1974; 1980) and
is a model of how
 Introduction
As we move through life from birth to
death, we respond to an internal
developmental clock or organizational
pattern that prescribes the tasks and
skills we need to learn.
Pam Levin describes these shared
patterns of growth as part of the
primitive forms we carry deep in
our ancestral memory.
Jean Illsley Clarke describes these
developmental stages as describable
segments in growing up.
The overarching task in each stage is
to find or create an age-appropriate
answer to each of four questions: Who
am I? Who are you? Who am I in
relation to others? How do I get what I
need?
 Tree analogy
One way to think about these ideas is
to visualize a tree.
A rare few of us are able to get all
that we need in each of the first six
developmental stages so that we
grow straight and tall. Most of us
dont grow up that way, however.
When we dont get what we need at
each stage, or we arent able to
accomplish the stage-appropriate
developmental tasks, we end up with
holes or knots or bends in our core or
trunk. These gaps or twists may
occur at one or more stages.
The adult recycling of Stage Seven
provides opportunities to repair the
holes, fill in the gaps, unravel the
knots, and unbend what isnt true.
 Analogy Stack of
pennies
Eric Berne gave us another metaphor for
growth.
Picture a stack of pennies. Each penny
represents a developmental task, starting
with Stage 1 on the bottom and adding
additional pennies for each of the tasks and
stages in turn. When all the pennies are
flush and even, the foundation of the stack
is firm.
You can add any number of pennies and
they wont topple over. If, however, one or
more of the pennies that form the base of
the stack is slightly bent, curved or
irregular, then the stack becomes skewed or
starts to zigzag.
All the pennies stacked on top of the
uneven one are less secure regardless of
how true or even they are. The uneven
pennies change the direction and balance of
the stack. Recycling offers opportunities to
make the bent pennies true and to redirect
and rebalance our developmental stacks.
 Main assumptions
Development is cyclical - as
opposed to linear.
It takes a lifetime to grow up.
It is the responsibility of the
entire community to raise
its children not just the
parents/carers.
Times of transition/change
provide particularly potent
times for the revisiting of
developmental stages and
tasks.
 Affirmations
Affirmations are the messages
adults can convey to
encourage the child/young
person to attend to the tasks
specific to that stage.
These will be primarily
communicated non-verbally. For
example, as a baby is doted over
and adults respond to her needs
for food, clean nappies etc, she
will be picking up the affirmations
You belong here and What you
need is important to us.
Similarly, to encourage a toddlers
need to experiment during the
Doing stage, a sand pit area might
be created or painting activities
set up.
Cycles of development
 Cycles of development
Stage 0
Stage : Becoming.
Duration : 9 Months(prenatal).
Activity - he prenatal stage lays the
groundwork for all the stages to
follow. During these nine months, if
all goes well, the babys body is
developing from the genetic gift of
the egg and the sperm to a full-term
infant with all life-supporting
systems intact or ready to grow to
full potential. Simultaneously, the
new being is making life-shaping
decisions in response to the
environment of the womb and the
relationship experiences of the
mother with other people and with
the baby.

Jean Illsley Clarke added this stage to Levins original developmental

theory
 Cycles of development
Stage 0
Stages and Developmental tasks Affirmations
Key
characteristics
Becoming 1. To grow; to develop all 1. You can make
9 months body systems. healthy decisions
(Prenatal) 2. To accept nourishment, about your
Is it safe for me acceptance, reassurance experiences.
to develop fully and love. 2. Your life is your
and be born? 3. To gain familiarity with own.
the mother. 3. Your needs and
4. To make some deep safety are
decisions about trust. important
5. To initiate and move
through the birth
process.
 Cycles of development
Stage 0
Stages and Recycling After birth,
Key Becoming is
characteristics significant
Becoming When we revisit When pregnant.
9 months Becoming, we may feel When we know we
(Prenatal) more than we think, we are going to
Is it safe for me may need time to experience a great
to develop fully gestate, to gather up change, especially
and be born? our feelings and one imposed from
thoughts, and to be outside, without
cared for and respected sufficient
for what we are doing information to feel
even though we may not confident of
be able to articulate it ourselves.
well. We may resort to
being hurried.
 Cycles of development
Clues for returning to becoming
Feeling an unaccounted-for
incompleteness.
Lack of joyfulness.
Stuck, not able to get started and
without words to describe that
feeling.
Any addiction or compulsive
behaviour.
Believing you have to do
everything yourself; trying to
start things and not finishing.
Self-destructive behaviours,
recklessness, extreme risk taking.
Strong and intense reactions to
minor disappointments.
Irrational fears or chronic anxiety
not otherwise accounted for.
All things in this world come
from being
 Cycles of development
Stage 1
Stage : Being.
Duration : 0-6
Months.
Activity - Being
involves just
experiencing the
world. A baby will
need to eat, drink,
sleep, be comfortable
and have affection at
this stage.
Cycles of development

Stage 1
 Cycles of development
Stage 1
Compromise Recycling After six months,
Stage 1 is
significant
If we dont get When we reenter Being, When we are tired,
enough of what we may stop doing hurt, vulnerable, ill
we need in this things, stop thinking and or under stress.
first stage, we simply exist. We may During periods of
may have want to eat more rapid change or
difficulties frequently and sleep growth.
focused on our more. We may have When suffering a
right to exist. difficulty concentrating; personal loss.
we seek recognition for When taking care
simply being who we are of an infant or
and not for what we do. when pregnant and
We may have heightened In the beginning of
needs for touching and a new process
being touched and for
renewing or developing
 Cycles of development
Clues for returning to being
Feeling we have run out of gas
emotionally.
Questioning our adequacy, feeling
helpless, and questioning whether
others can be trusted.
Wanting others to know what we
need without our asking; not
knowing what we need; not
needing anything; feeling numb.
Believing others needs are more
important.
Not wanting to be touched, or
compulsive touching, or joyless
sexual touching.
Unwillingness to disclose
information about ourselves,
especially negative information.
 Summary of being stage
Ego state : Natural Child.
Activity : Needs and feelings.
Functional Metaphor : Generator.
Psychoanalytic equivalent : Early Oral.
Needs : Feeding and stroking, immediate response
to crying signal.
Problem solving procedure : Peek a boo.
Games : NIGYSOB (Now I got you, you SOB), addict,
Chain smoker, Indigent.
Mechanism : Denial.
Injunctions : Dont be, Dont feel, Dont have needs.
Knowledge must come through
action.
Sophocles
 Cycles of development
Stage 2
Stage : Doing.
Duration : 6 18 Months.
Activity - Here a child will
want to be active. They are
exploring the world they live
in with their hands, their
eyes and mouths. As the
child becomes more mobile
she will need to stray away
from her carer to test,
through experience, where
boundaries exist.
Cycles of development
Stage 2
 Cycles of development
Stage 2
Compromise Recycling After eighteen
months, Stage 2 is
significant
If we are When we reenter Doing, After being
thwarted in our we may have a short nurtured for awhile.
explorations attention span and have In any new physical
during this stage difficulty setting goals. setting.
by inconsistent Our need to be mobile As part of the
care giving or and active becomes creative process.
overprotection, paramount. As in our As a prelude to
we may become first experience of this establishing a new
perpetual stage, our curiosity is level of
explorers or we heightened as well as independence and
may be reluctant our intuitiveness. We When taking care
to enter into new may recycle this stage of a toddler.
situations. by frequently changing
homes, jobs and cars
and by choosing action
or adventure-type
activities for leisure or
 Cycles of development
Clues for returning to Doing
Doing issues become prominent.
Not knowing when to initiate and
when to be inactive; reluctance to
initiate.
Conflicts about whether to be goal-
directed or not have any goals for
a while.
Boredom; seeking or developing
new motivations in life.
Avoiding doing things unless you
can do them perfectly.
Not knowing what you know.
Thinking it is okay not to be safe,
supported, protected.
Trouble finishing tasks
 Summary of doing stage
Ego state : Little Professor.
Activity : Behavior.
Functional Metaphor : Radar.
Psychoanalytic equivalent : Oral Exploratory.
Needs : Exploring and doing things, two yeses for
every no.
Problem solving procedure : You will never get away.
Games : Do me something, Cavalier, Sweetheart,
Harried.
Mechanism : Projection.
Injunctions : Dont bother, Dont initiate, Dont do
things.
The whole of science is nothing
more than a refinement of
everyday thinking.
 Cycles of development
Stage 3
Stage : Thinking.
Duration : 18 Months 3 years.
Activity - During this stage a child
develops their thinking capacity.
They will want to reason things
out for themselves and make their
own decisions. Our future ability
to think depends on how we
develop in this stage. An overly
controlled child for instance,
where adults make most decisions
for them, may have difficulty in
making decisions for themselves
when they are older.
Cycles of development
Stage 3
 Cycles of development
Stage 3
Compromise Recycling After three years,
Stage 3 is
significant
If we are not As in our first When breaking out
allowed to experience of this stage, of a dependency
develop our our curiosity is relationship (with a
thinking and heightened as well as lover, spouse,
problem solving our intuitiveness. We feel mentor, employer
skills, we may a need to establish a or friend).
find it hard to new level of When learning new
form our own independence and information.
opinions or solve individualityour When developing a
our own separateness. new personal
problems later in position or taking a
life. This distrust stand.
of our thinking is When changing
often expressed agreements and
as I dont When parenting a
know. toddler.
 Cycles of development
Clues for returning to Thinking
Feeling angry about everything in
general; inappropriate
rebelliousness (chip on shoulder).
Fear of anger in self and others;
indirect expressions of anger
through behaviours.
Wanting to establish what is
mine and what is yours.
Lots of questions about
separateness, responsibility and
thinking (especially resistance,
contrariness, forgetfulness,
discounting/accounting,
stubbornness, procrastination and
greed).
Rather be right than successful.
 Summary of Thinking
stage
Ego state : Adult.
Activity : Thinking.
Functional Metaphor : Computer.
Psychoanalytic equivalent : Anal.
Needs : Time and information, reasons, limits,
affection.
Problem solving procedure : Try and make me.
Games : Schlemiel, Stupid, balance sheet.
Mechanism : Discounting.
Injunctions : Dont think, Dont have needs
separate from me.
Talks of mysteries!
Think of our life in
nature...
Who are we?
Thoreau
 Cycles of development
Stage 4
Stage : Identity.
Duration : 3 6 years.
Activity - Here children make the
decisions as to what sort of
person they will be. The
grownups they come into contact
with both in real life and in fiction
offer them a range of role models
to choose from. Using the limited
resources we have at this age we
write a fitting story. A story that
will enable us to survive the
environment and culture we find
ourselves in. By the time we are
six we have written our script,
the story line we will try to fit our
Cycles of development
Stage 4
 Cycles of development
Stage 4
Compromise Recycling After six years,
Stage 4 is
significant
Without Returning to this After renegotiating
appropriate identity stage brings up a social contract;
guidance and questions and issues When carrying out
support at this related to power and a new role;
stage, we may gender: potency and When seeking a
grow up to be impotency, magic, new relationship to
unsure of our creating or destroying, family, job, or
role in life, or hurting and healing. culture; and
with rigid views Adults recycling this When caring for
that limit our stage may change their preschool children.
potential appearance, lifestyle or
development. work
 Cycles of development
Clues for returning to identity
Having to be in a position of power;
being afraid of or reluctant to use
power.
Unsure of personal adequacy.
Frequently comparing oneself to
others and needing to come off better.
Identity confusionneeding to define
oneself by a job or a relationship.
Feeling driven to achieve.
Overuse of outlandish dress or
behaviour.
Wanting or expecting magical
 Summary of identity
stage
Ego state : Super natural child.
Activity : Transforming energy.
Functional Metaphor : Transformer.
Psychoanalytic equivalent : Genital.
Needs : Adequate external supply lines maintained
while testing power.
Problem solving procedure : Lets pretend.
Games : Mine is bigger than yours, lets you and him
fight.
Mechanism : Conversion.
Injunctions : Eat your heart our, Dont be sane,
Dont be powerful.
 For all things
we have to learn
before we can do
them, we learn
by doing them.
Aristotle
 Cycles of development
Stage5
Stage : Skills.
Duration : 6 12 years.
Activity - During this period a child will
be developing the skills they think
they will need in life and that fit their
identity. From grownups in our life we
gain options as to how we will
structure our world. The decisions
made in this stage are based on the
decisions made in the early stage and
so the skills and structure they
develop are the ones the child sees
relevant for their identity. Observing
children at this stage we notice that at
times they are alternatively helpful
and compliant and at others testing.
In fact they are testing their identity
against the structures in their life to
Cycles of development
Stage5
 Cycles of development
Stage 5
Compromise Recycling After twelve years,
Stage 5 is
significant
Failure to acquire Returning to this stage is After updating our
significant skills about updating internal identity.
or values will structures, questioning, and When learning new
relearning how to do things.
limit us as skills.
We explore new values,
adults. For ideas and behaviours. We When changing
example, lack of may try on new social roles cultures and
a family as we let go of old ones; When caring for a
structure, or making mistakes and feeling six to twelve-year-
clear family awkward or clumsy is part of old.
values, or good this. We may seek contact
role models. with people outside our
usual circle of family or
friends: peer groups and
same sex relationships are
major themes. We are
concerned with defining
reality, dealing with
authority, arguing and
 Cycles of development
Clues for returning to Skills
Needing to be part of a gang or
groupor only functioning well as a
loner.
Needing to be king or queen of the
hill.
Not understanding the relevance of
rules; not understanding the
freedom that rules can bestow.
Unwillingness to examine personal
values or morals.
Trusting the thinking of the group
more than ones own thinking and
intuition.
Expecting to have to do things
without knowing how, finding out,
or being taught how.
Being reluctant to learn new things
or be productive.
 Summary of Skill stage
Ego state : Parent.
Activity : Structuring, developing skills.
Functional Metaphor : Regulator.
Psychoanalytic equivalent : Latency.
Needs : Experience in doing things,
independence.
Problem solving procedure : Dress up.
Games : Court room, Aint it awful, Blemish.
Mechanism : Exclusion.
Injunctions : Dont think, Just do it, Dont
structure.
The omnipresent process of sex, as it is woven
into the whole texture of a mans or womans
body, is the pattern of all the process of our
lives.
Havelock Ellis
 Cycles of development
Stage6
Stage : Regeneration .
Duration : 12 18 years.
Activity - Here the young person will
recycle through all the previous stages
again, only this time they go at twice
the speed. So there will be a new period
of 'being' aged 13, when they will spend
time resting, eating and thinking about
sex. This is followed by a further period
of 'doing' where our young person has
the opportunity to re-explore the world
with a better understanding of her
environment. At about 14 our
developing adult revisits the stage of
'thinking'. Here previous decisions are
reviewed and revised. So in the ensuing
stage of 'identity' the early decision
about who we will be are updated in
order to fit in with the grownup world
we now know better. This is followed by
a further period of 'skill' development.
In a way making sense of and
structuring the world as we experience
it, so as to prepare for our 'friendly
Cycles of development
Stage6
 Cycles of development
Stage 6
Compromise Recycling After eighteen
years, Stage 6 is
significant
Failure to As grownups revisit After developing
achieve this Stage 6 we explore many new morals or
integration will of the same themes: sex skills.
leave us and its importance and When preparing to
somewhat integration into our lives, leave a
fragmented, as if how our relationships fit relationship, job,
somehow we with and support our home or locality.
have not quite adult identities and When ending any
finished growing values, our personal process and
up philosophies and When parenting
positions, and how we teenagers.
relate to the world. We
may also have higher
sleep needs, explore
music and drugs,
experiment sexually, or
speak of acting like a
 Cycles of development
Clues for returning to Regeneration
Preoccupation with sex, body,
clothes, appearance, friends or
our sex role.
Unsure of our own values;
vulnerable to peer pressure.
Problems with starting and
ending jobs, roles and
relationships.
Overdependence on or
alienation from family and
others.
Irresponsibility; difficulty making
and keeping commitments.
Looking to others for a definition
of who we are.
Confusion between sex and
nurturing.
Unsure of maleness, femaleness
 Summary of
Regeneration stage
Ego state : Recycling through previous stages.
Activity : Unifying previous activities.
Functional Metaphor : Integrator.
Psychoanalytic equivalent : Puberty.
Needs : Work through previous unresolved
problems.
Problem solving procedure : Primary game
from each previous stage exaggerated.
Mechanism : Unification.
Injunctions : Dont make it, Dont growup.
The wheel has come full circle.
Shakespeare
 Cycles of development
Stage 7
Stage : Recycling.
Duration : Rest of our lives.
Activity - During our 18th year we
begin our second cycle in this spiral
of development. We then continue
to re-visit these stages through the
rest of our lives. You can, for
instance, work out what stage you
are currently at by dividing your
age by 19 and comparing the
remainder to the age and related
stages of development described
above. For example, if you were 43,
this is how you would work out
which stage you were currently
recycling; 43 divided by 19 = 2
remainder 5. Five years puts you at
the end of the identity stage and
 Cycles of development
Clues for returning to Recycling
Any or all of the clues relating to
Stages 1 through 6.
Overdependence; fear of dependence,
or being independent to the exclusion
of interdependence.
Difficulty making and keeping
commitments.
Role inflexibility.
Fear of growing old.
Unwillingness to say hello and good-
bye; unwillingness to grieve and then
move on with life.
Living in the past; living in the future.
Living through others.
Not knowing or getting what you need.
Denial and discounting.
 Cycles of development

Stage : Towards death.

Stage 8
Duration : Last part of our lives.
Activity - Dying is part of living and this
stage of life could properly be called Living
Until You Die. No matter what our
circumstances, this can be a time of being
in charge in a new way. We can be in
charge of how we see ourselves and the
world. We can be in charge of what we
make of every day, to the greatest degree
we are able. We sum up what we have
learned from lifes experiences. We sharpen
our observations and come to accept life as
it is without thinking it must be changed to
suit us. We prepare to relinquish certain
responsibilities to those we have mentored.
We understand that just about everything
has a light and a dark side.
 Cycles of development
Stage 8
Stages and Developmental tasks Affirmations
Key
characteristics
]
Death To prepare for death You can grow your
Last part of our To explore connections whole life through.
lives with humankind and You can make your
connections with a preparations for
higher power. leaving and die
To adjust to and grieve when you are
the loss of any physical ready.
and mental capabilities. You can celebrate
To be willing to share our the gifts you have
wisdom received and the
To refine the arts of gifts you have
greeting, leaving and given.
grieving. You can share your
wisdom in your
 Spirals within spirals
Pamela Levin suggests that when we
encounter any change in our life, at
whichever point we are within our
own spiral we start a new one. The
new one is a small cycle taking place
within our larger life one. This spiral
may last seconds, minutes, hours or
years. How we have completed the
developmental stages in our earlier
life will affect the way we manage
this smaller spiral around these
particular changes or transitions in
our life. It is as if our life spiral is a
river flowing swiftly through a
landscape of life. Change acts like
boulders or snags in the flow. As the
Competence Curve
 Cycles of development
Stage 1
Stage : Being.
Competence : Immobilization
Activity - During a change there will
be a period where we feel "frozen"
or "locked up"; for a while we are
almost in a state of shock, unable
or unwilling to make decisions. In a
change like having a new job we
may just want to be - to sit at our
desk or just be around work
colleagues. This would be a time to
consider past successes. It might be
useful to spend some time
pampering ourselves doing things
where we can just be. It is useful to
plan ways to look after yourself.
 Cycles of development
Stage 2
Stage : Doing.
Competence : Denial.
Activity - During this stage we may appear to
be very active as we look to be busily
occupied doing things. In a new job we may
find that we do what we used to do. We fall
back on the old and tried and tested
techniques that worked in the past. If things
have changed however, these activities are
likely to be unhelpful or unnecessary or even
unwanted in the new situation we are in. We
might feel better because we are active and
doing something. Our managers, on the other
hand, may experience frustration as it
appears that we are not doing the job that we
were taken on for. During this stage it is
useful to have someone that we trust who
will give us feedback on our behaviour, to
help us grasp the new reality we are in and
yet at the same time understanding the need
to be active.
 Cycles of development
Stage 3
Stage : Thinking.
Competence : Frustration.
Activity - Eventually it dawns on us
that what we are doing is not actually
what is required. This is a period
where, through feedback or our own
insights, we stop denying the change
and its effect. We start to question our
abilities and so appear less confident
and less competent, and this is how we
feel too. Things are just not working
out and so there is a feeling of
frustration. At this stage we are
thinking about the change. During this
stage it is useful to recognise that we
may feel angry and make
arrangements in our life to let off
steam safely.
 Cycles of development
Stage 4
Stage : Identity.
Competence : Acceptance.
Activity - The identity stage would
suggest that here we are becoming
clear about our new role. It is the
period where we discover how we
should be in order to fit in with the
new circumstances we find
ourselves in. In the new job, for
example, we are discovering our
role and understanding better what
is expected of us and what we
expect of ourselves. It is helpful
now to look back at where we were
least effective in the past in order
to decide how to develop in the
future.
 Cycles of development
Stage5
Stage : Skills.
Competence : Development.
Activity - Now we are ready to
learn to cope with the new situation
and make sense of our new
identity, or our new identification
with our part in our new situation.
Everything is in place for us to start
a learning curve and to develop. In
the example of a job we would start
thinking about courses and plan to
develop learning activities that
would develop skills and knowledge
to do the job that we are in. Now is
the time for managers to help the
worker make these learning plans,
planning not just for courses but
 Cycles of development
Stage6
Stage : Integration.
Competence : Application.
Activity - Here we apply our skills in
the new situation appropriately. We
feel more engaged and confident, and
it is a time when we can usefully use
previous behaviour, knowledge and
skills integrated and compatible with
our new identity. In the work setting
we will be seen to have "got the job
under our belt". We would be able to
incorporate old skills and knowledge
in a way that is congruent with the
new expectations of us. During this
stage it is helpful to review `old` skills
and review what worked in the past
whilst asking the question; is this
appropriate here and now?
 Cycles of development
Stage 7
Stage : Recycling.
Competence :
Completion.
Activity - At this stage we are
completely at ease with the
new situation. It is almost as if
there has not been a change.
In the work setting we feel on
top of the job and may be
looking for fresh challenges,
either by expanding our
present job or by looking for a
new one. At this stage do
congratulate yourself for
having completed the
 Physis
The spiral of development is a
metaphor to describe a complex
system and like all metaphors
fails in its description when
pushed too far. Having said this I
would like to suggest that
recycling should not be seen as
going round in circles, rather the
spiral should be seen as moving
upward, powered by the life
force we all have to continue
developing. Eric Berne called
this life force Physis (1971).
References
 Prepared by
Manu Melwin Joy
Research Scholar
SMS, CUSAT, Kerala
Phone 9744551114
Mail
manu_melwinjoy@yahoo.com