Are there any freely available tests I can take to help determine what stage I am in?
Thanks for any pointers…
Which stages do you resonate with most? I don’t know of any tests, but for me I know which ones I have passed for sure. Of course there are shadows that can form in each, but in general my perspectives have changed over the years, and actually do conform quite well to the stages when I reflect on them. I think its easier to look down than it is up. Some of the higher stages begin to sound confusing, and I think that is probably indicative that
I have not reached them yet. In other words it might be tough to tell where you are, but it is easier to see where you have passed and where you have not reached. Do you have the same experience with some of the lower stages?
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Some of us have been discussing developing an online test that can approximate what stage you’re at along various lines of development. @russ.legear has indicated that he would like to be involved in creating an online test of this type. Perhaps you could contact him.
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Some questions you can ask yourself to determine your worldview are:
- Do I believe that all truth is relative and dependent on its context?
- Do I place more faith in science than any other framework to describe reality?
- Do I value above all else my place in society and my alignment with my leader or leaders’ will?
- Do I value individual power above all else?
- Do I believe I need to please the gods, who manifest in all things, who will judge me if I disobey them?
- Do I hold my individual, physical survival above all else?
- Do I believe there is truth and value in multiple perspectives and viewpoints, and yet that there are some truths that are absolute?
- Do I believe that the Earth is a holistic organism with many independent parts, some of which form their own sub-organisms (much like cells forming the organs of the body), and that these holistic parts can manifest their own will beyond the will of their individual parts?
Now, these are VERY basic questions to get a gauge of where you’re at (and I’ll admit that there are probably better questions, as these are the first that popped up for me). State-dependency will also play in here, as your answer can change depending on your mood and circumstances (for example, if I’m worried about a bill I don’t think I can pay, I will answer very differently than if money to pay that bill has unexpectedly shown up–one is a state of fear, the other is a state of joy, and both would influence your answer).
Additionally, stages are more of a “focus,” thing–they describe where our predominant worldview manifests, but that doesn’t mean we can’t regress or evolve temporarily depending on life circumstances (see the state-dependency example above).
A true, academically sound test is something on my mind, but I’d also like to build awareness of worldviews with a BuzzFeed style test that I can hopefully get to go viral.
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Have you seen Steve Macintosh’s website? He has a couple of tests on it: https://www.culturalevolution.org/worldview-questionnaire/
The tests really simple but its a start.
Funny you should ask, Mark Foreman just released his course and self assessment in the area ($US$10) two days ago. I purchased it and and finding it interesting. He covers the basics and assumes you don’t know anything and its in academic voice style, but its does what he says it does. I have not got to the assessment part yet but looking forward to it.
I wonder if we could interest Mark Forman, PhD in helping to develop a free online test that lets people approximate where they are on several key lines of development.