Psychosocial Theories
These are very helpful in academic advising because they help advisors understand how students’ thinking and learning is affected by outside influences. These external factors affect how students understand themselves and others and they can shape where a student is going personally and professionally. Theories like Marcia and Josselson’s statuses of identity formation can inform ways in which advisors might understand different perceptions and phases students might be experiencing in the ways they understand and perceive themselves in relation to others and in relation to their educational and professional experiences. Chickering’s developmental vectors are very useful in identifying different developmental challenges that students may be going through. Understanding the multiple vectors students may be experiencing can demystify their responses, behaviors, and thought processes for advisors.
Perry’s Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development
This theory is commonly used in student affairs as a lens for understanding the ways in which students are thinking. Below is an image that shows the stages. These stages can help highlight the ways students might be comfortable thinking and how they might be expecting to receive advice. It is important to both meet students where they are so as to not alienate them, but it is also important to push students to develop by integrating challenge into their experience.
*Note
It is important to view theories with a critical eye and remember that this theory was developed based on research of an entirely male sample from Harvard. Keep in mind the implicit biases that are behind research with a sample that is not representative of a diverse population.
Perry, W.G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Perry, W.G. (1981). Cognitive and ethical growth: The making of meaning. In Arthur Chickering, The Modern American College, pp.76-116. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
