Development in the Personal Domain

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Early Elementary  Control over the personal is tied to observable physical and behavioral aspects of self. Identity and autonomy are manifested in how one dresses and appears to others. Autonomy is literally the ownership and control over one’s “own self.”

Middle Elementary  The self includes a personality (as well as a physical body) described in terms of characteristic behaviors that are in comparison with the behaviors of others. Control over the personal allows for the behavioral illustration and development of the personality.

Middle School  The self is now described primarily in terms of one’s ideas, beliefs, values, and thoughts. Control over the personal is necessary in order to be different from others. However, consciousness lacks depth. Being individual is defined in terms of being different; having different ideas and beliefs from others.

High School  The self is based on an interior essence of core ideas and values that are uncovered and made manifest through control over one’s private and personal decisions and actions. Control over the personal allows for self-discovery and the coordination of what is “outside” with what is inside the “true” self.

Developmental Shifts in Relation to Convention

Beginning in late elementary school and continuing into the second or third year of high school, children and adolescents expand what they consider to be personal and within their jurisdiction rather than under the control of parents. These shifts are in relation to family and household conventions and issues of prudence having to do with the personal safety of the child. Parents are also giving increased control of the personal domain to their children as they get older. However, the rate at which parents give over control tends to lag behind the demands of their children.