The self in conflict: The evolution of mediation.

Developmentalists such as Baldwin (1975); Basseches (1984); Cook-Greuter (1990, 1999, 2000); Kegan (1982, 1994, 2001); Loevinger (1976, 1979, 1983, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2002); Piaget (1970); and Wade (1996) have devoted their research to the growth of different lines of development in individuals. A developmental understanding of conflict has implications for conflict theorists and interveners. In applying Kegan's staged model of adult psychological development to the experience of conflict, we can better understand the meaning-making that underlies the behaviors that disputants exhibit in conflict, thereby allowing interveners to help the disputants expand their understanding of the conflict situation and find new pathways to its resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]