DRI · UNFOLDING AWARENESS
The Model
STAGES is a validated, integral scoring methodology built on the foundation of Jane Loevinger’s ego development research. Developed by Terri O’Fallon, STAGES introduces a three-parameter framework for measuring how individuals make meaning, process experience, and grow across the full developmental spectrum.
Rather than relying solely on examples-based matching, STAGES grounds assessment in three core dimensions of language, enabling greater precision, continuity of scoring, and applicability across diverse populations, including children.
Parameter 1
Whether a person’s attention rests on concrete objects, subtle patterns and contexts, or awareness itself (the MetAware tier).
Parameter 2
Whether meaning-making at a given stage centers on the individual perspective or on the collective and relational field.
Parameter 3
Whether a stage expresses itself through an active, agentic mode or a receptive, integrative one.
Key Features
A full-spectrum developmental framework, from early concrete stages through subtle, metaware, and beyond
Three-parameter scoring dimensions that capture the structure, not just the content, of meaning-making
A Core Score aggregation method that provides continuous, fractional results and includes a shadow score
Validated across multiple peer-reviewed studies for inter-rater reliability, longitudinal consistency, and convergent validity
Applicable to a wide range of specialty inventories and research domains
For information about STAGES training, assessment, and application, visit Stages International.
The Practice
Integral Polarity Practice, developed by John Kesler, is a structured developmental and spiritual practice that works with the natural polarities of human experience. IPP mirrors the STAGES research, and the STAGES research mirrors IPP, offering a practical companion to the theoretical and empirical work of DRI.
Applied Programs
Pacific Integral’s Generating Transformative Change cohort program, developed by Geoff Fitch and Abigail Lynam, represents a practical application of developmental frameworks in the context of systemic and organizational change.
The frameworks on this page are grounded in peer-reviewed validation studies. See the evidence on our Research page.
