Robert Kegan’s Structure of the Complexity of the Mind is a developmental model that describes how humans construct meaning and evolve through increasingly complex ways of understanding themselves and the world. It’s central to his theory of constructive-developmental psychology, particularly outlined in The Evolving Self and In Over Our Heads.
Kegan identifies five (sometimes six) distinct "orders of consciousness" or "orders of mind." Each order represents a qualitatively different way of making meaning and relating to the self, others, and the world.
Order | Name | Defining Feature | What You're Subject To (Can't Reflect On) | What You're Object To (Can Reflect On) |
1st Order | Impulsive Mind | Perception-driven and impulse-led (young children) | Impulses and perceptions | Nothing yet — very basic |
2nd Order | Instrumental Mind | Self-interest and concrete thinking (older kids, some adults) | Needs, desires, concrete rules | Impulses and perceptions |
3rd Order | Socialized Mind | External authority, relationships, belonging (many adults) | Interpersonal expectations, ideologies | Needs and desires |
4th Order | Self-Authoring Mind | Internal authority, personal ideology and identity (fewer adults) | Own identity and ideology | Interpersonal expectations |
5th Order | Self-Transforming Mind | Systems thinking, embraces contradictions, multiple perspectives (rare adults) | Ideologies and identities themselves | Own identity and ideology |
A core concept is the shift from subject to object. As we develop, we gain the ability to step back from things that once defined us—to see them as tools we use rather than as parts of who we are.
Example:
- A 3rd-order person is their relationships.
- A 4th-order person has relationships and chooses how to act within them based on internal values.
- From 2 → 3: Begin to internalize the perspectives of others and society.
- From 3 → 4: Start questioning those societal norms and authoring one’s own beliefs.
- From 4 → 5: See your own belief systems as limited, and hold multiple systems in tension.