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Article Excerpt
The purpose of this article is to present Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration (TPD; 1964) in a thorough and accessible manner so that those in the gifted community can gain a better understanding of it and its usefulness to the field of gifted studies. Though many professionals working with and studying gifted individuals are familiar with the overexcitabilities Dabrowski describes, they are only part of a larger more complex theory describing human development. This article provides an overview of the essential elements of the theory, how they are interconnected, and a "taste" of its complexity. TPD has depth and breadth that cannot be conveyed in a single journal article. Each construct presented is complex and the reader is encouraged to delve into Dabrowski's writings for a more complete understanding of the theory.
Throughout the article I have used quotes from Dabrowski's original works and the works of those who worked closely with him, in some cases to a greater degree than is typically found in articles such as this. However, these writings are often so clear or so nuanced that paraphrasing them would diminish their meaning too greatly. Finally, I invite you to consider how different parts apply to your work with gifted individuals. Though the reader is tasked to make connections between theory and practice, some suggestions and pertinent questions are described toward the end of the article.
TPD is a developmental personality theory that describes the factors contributing to development, the process of development, and the characteristics of people at different levels of development. TPD was developed out of Kazimierz Dabrowski's experience as a doctor of psychiatry and psychology and over two decades of clinical and biographical studies of patients, artists, writers, members of religious orders, and gifted children and adolescents (Kawczak, 1970). His experiences during both World Wars also played a major role in the development of his theory. Dabrowski wanted to explain "the juxtaposition of inhuman humans with those who were sensitive, capable of sacrifice, [and] courageous" (Dabrowski, 1975, p. 233). Dabrowski sought to describe the radically different types of people in society and the mechanisms that facilitate and inhibit individual development leading to these differences.
Dabrowski wrote: "Superficiality, vulgarity, absence of inner conflict, quick forgetting of grave experience, became repugnant to me. I searched for people and attitudes ... that were authentically ideal, saturated with immutable values, those who represented 'what ought to be' against 'what is'" (1975, p. 234). In addition, Dabrowski became interested in "the intensity and richness of thought and feeling, vividness of imagination, moral and emotional sensitivity [of people whose] ... interactions with the world ... seemed above average in intensity, duration and frequency of occurrence" (Piechowski & Cunningham, 1985, p. 154).
FOUNDATIONS OF THE THEORY
Positive Disintegration, an Oxymoron at First Glance
Positive disintegration is the name of the developmental process by which a higher-level personality structure replaces a lower-level structure. It is disintegrative because the existing personality structure must come apart and positive because it contributes to development. Dabrowski (1964) stated that "the disintegration process, through loosening and even fragmenting the internal psychic environment, through conflicts within the internal environment and with the external environment, is the ground for the birth and development of a higher psychic structure" (pp. 5-6). Dabrowski further suggested that any negative aspect of the disintegrative process is marginal and unimportant when considered against the development of personality to higher levels. However, all disintegrative processes are not developmental and "chronic disintegration of mental functions is associated with negative disintegration" (Dabrowski, 1996, p. 13), the results of which can be serious mental illness and suicide.
It is worth noting that some authors writing on Dabrowski's theory refer to it as the theory of emotional development (e.g., Baum, Olenchak, & Owen, 1998; Miller, 1994; Silverman, 1994). Though the importance of emotions in TPD is significant, and it is a theory describing emotional development, Dabrowski emphasized the importance of the central process of development by calling his theory the theory of positive disintegration.
Roots of the Theory
In the first English translation of Dabrowski's writings on TPD (1964), the work of three individuals who provided conceptual underpinnings for TPD, Jackson, Mazurkiewicz, and Piaget, was described. Jackson described three principles related to the evolution of the central nervous system, two of which Dabrowski felt were compatible with his theory: "Evolution is the transition from the simplest toward the most complex centers ... [and] ... is the transition from more automatic toward more voluntary functions" (Dabrowski, 1964, p. 103). What is important to draw from Jackson's work is that the most complex processes are the least automatic (Piechowski, 1975). You will see how this applies to TPD when the details of multilevelness, dynamisms, and higher levels of development are described later in this article.
Mazurkiewicz emphasized "qualitative changes in the development of the nervous system and the significance of emotions as directing forces" (Dabrowski, 1964, p. 85). He also described what he referred to as "own" forces that are "more than simple reflexes to a stimulus" (Aronson, 1964, p. xii). Dabrowski integrated Mazurkiewicz's emphasis on self-determination (own forces) into his conception of an autonomous factor influencing development, as well as the importance of emotions in the process of development. Jean Piaget's work focused on reasoning development in children and emphasized that reasoning ability gradually unfolds for a child. This progressive unfolding is what influenced Dabrowski's theory.
Dabrowski (1967) drew additional conceptual underpinnings from the work of von Monakow, specifically von Monakow's "theory of the structure and functions of instincts" (p. 49). Von Monakow's differentiation between lower level and more evolved forms of basic instincts, such as self-preservation and sexuality, shows another place from which Dabrowski's notions of multilevelness and hierarchization were developed.
TPD can be further understood by examining the psychological theorists who Dabrowski felt were sympathetic to his own thinking and those who were not. The theorists to whom Dabrowski was receptive, because they aligned with his multilevel understanding of human phenomena, included Jackson, Sherrington, Jung, and Rorschach. Dabrowski considered psychoanalytic theories, Pavlov's theory, behaviorism, and some of Adler's ideas "incomprehensible" because they did not include multilevel components (Dabrowski, 1975).
Fundamental Differentiating Characteristics
There are four fundamental characteristics I would like to describe that differentiate TPD from many other theories of development. First, development is considered nonontogenetic, that is, unrelated to physical maturation (Dabrowski, 1972). Development through the levels is not automatic and one's age is not an indication of one's developmental level. Therefore, some younger people will be at higher levels of development than their elders. In addition, not all people are born at the lowest level of development and there is no guarantee that a person will develop past the level into which he is born. Dabrowski, in fact, suggested that the vast majority of people in the world were at the lowest two levels of development described in his theory, and that only very few reached the highest level.
The second characteristic is the role that emotion plays in development. Theories of human development may emphasize the importance of cognitive, societal, or physical contributions to development. However, Dabrowski focused on the important developmental role of emotions. He went so far as to say, "The emotional sphere at every level of development is the decisive factor that determines and controls human activity" (Dabrowski, Kawczak, & Piechowski, 1970, p. 112). This is clearly articulated in his description of the levels of development, developmental forces (dynamisms), and the developmental emphasis on emotional overexcitability, all of which are addressed later in this article. Dabrowski's view of psychoneurosis and conflict is the third fundamental differentiating characteristic of his theory. He felt that many conflicts and forms of mental illness generally thought to have negative developmental consequences were necessary for growth. According to Dabrowski (1967),
Conflicts play an extremely important role in the development of personality. Of all types of conflicts the inner conflict is particularly significant.... Without the disturbance and disequilibrium brought about by nervousness and psychoneurosis, the process of personality development cannot be realized. (p. vi)
Dabrowski's definition of psychoneurosis is rather different than that of most in his field. He defined psychoneuroses as "those processes, syndromes and functions that express inner and external conflicts, and positive maladjustment of an individual in the process of accelerated development" (1973, p. 151). For Dabrowski, psychoneuroses contain the nuclei necessary for a rich psychic life. They constitute the beginning phases of development, not, as most would say, the beginning of mental illness (Dabrowski, 1972).
The fourth characteristic is Dabrowski's premise that values are not relativistic. Dabrowski, with Kawczak and Piechowski (1970), proposed that human emotional and instinctive functions exist at different levels of development and that this level of functioning can be seen in an individual's goals, actions, and value system. That is, not all value systems are considered equally "right." He believed that different levels of psychological development exist; that each level has its own instinctual and emotional expressions; and that these expressions lead to different sets of values for those with primitive mental functions and those who are more refined. Therefore, Dabrowski stated, it is unreasonable to put all conceptions of right and wrong on equal footing: "The relativistic idea that value judgments of each human individual count the same, the idea that there is a kind of 'equality' in valuation among men, is not only completely mistaken, but leads to manslaughter on a mass scale" (p. xi). One can presume that Dabrowski's statement comes, at least in part, from his first-hand experience in two world wars. How can Hitler's acts of mass slaughter have the same value as the acts of people who risked their lives to save those people Hitler intended to annihilate (Block & Drucker, 1992)?
Factors Influencing Development
Dabrowski (1996) described three sets of factors that influence individual development, two of which are typically seen in most theories of development, heredity and environment, and a unique autonomous factor. Hereditary
endowment is the first factor influencing personality development and consists of "the genes and the permanent psychical changes in the organism's constitution which may occur during pregnancy, birth, or soon after ... [and] represents innate constitutional characteristics and potentialities of the organism" (p. 14). Dabrowski, with Kawczak and Piechowski (1970), said that constitutional elements are recognizable in children as young as 1 year old and can be clearly identified in children between 1 and 3 years of age.
Second factor influences are environmental and include the social influences brought to bear by individuals and groups of people (Dabrowski, 1996). The nuclear and extended family, educational and other institutions, religious affiliations, and all cultural influences at the local, national, and international level contribute to second factor influences. These influences interact with an individual's innate psychological constitution (factor 1) and can either weaken or strengthen it. Dabrowski et al. (1970) described three possible interactions between the first...
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