by William R. Lee
February, 1999  [revised November, 2001]  

During the 1960s and 1970s when Dr. Graves was doing his research and traveling around the country presenting his theory he would from time to time pass through Washington, D.C. where he would meet with the local Values Group. (The Washington, D.C. area Values Group existed for about nine years in the 1970s.) It was at this time that the Values Group managed to contact Dr. O. J. Harvey and asked him to present some of his research to the Values Group when he passed through our area and he agreed. We knew that the Cognitive Systems of Dr. Harvey were similar to the Levels of Existence Theory that Dr. Graves was presenting.

Dr. Graves’ basic research was conducted in the 1950s and 1960s at Union College in Schenectady, New York. At the Washington School of Psychiatry on Oct. 16, 1971, Dr. Graves made a presentation in which he stated that a former student of his, David Hunt, was part of the Harvey-Hunt-Schroder group at the University of Colorado where Dr. Harvey was developing his Cognitive Systems point of view. Dr. Graves stated that Dr. Harvey was "a colleague of mine, who I’ve worked with considerably" and that "he and I shared a lot back and forth." A number of references, like these, over the years of knowing Dr. Graves, have indicated to me that Dr. Graves and Dr. Harvey shared a lot of information about each other’s research. Many of the tests that Dr. Graves gave his subjects were the same tests that O. J. Harvey gave his subjects.

I am presenting a comparison of the test results of the four cognitive systems that Dr. Harvey obtained at the University of Colorado (Construct Validity of the Four Systems – pages 48-65, 1996) with the test results obtained by Dr. Graves at Union College. The reason for comparing the work of these two researchers is to show that the test results they obtained working with different populations of subjects are almost identical.

* Ranking is from a High of 4 - down to a Low of 1.

Beck, Don & Christopher Cowan. Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 1996. (U.S. Office -- 238 Main Street, Cambridge, Mass. 02142)

Harvey, O. J. Editor, Experience, Structure, & Adaptability. Springer Publishing Company, Inc., 1966.

Harvey, O. J. Editor, Motivation and Social Interaction: Cognitive Determinants. The Ronald Press Company. New York, 1963.

[Note: The test discussions begin on page 48 in the 1966 edition and move through page 64. The tests and the page number in the 1966 edition are in parentheses on the right side of the table above the test results for O. J. Harvey. 

A full description of the Cognitive Systems of O.J. Harvey can be found in Chapter 4, System Structure, Flexibility and Creativity, in the 1966 book, pages 39 - 64.]

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The tests that are listed are those tests which Dr. Harvey gave to his subjects. The tests and test results are presented in the1966 book and at times only a portion of the test results are made available. The specific tests, which Dr. Graves gave to his subjects, are not identified. Dr. Graves would refer to the test results, which he had obtained from his subjects, but he rarely disclosed what specific tests he had used in his research.

One fine day Dr. Graves cleaned out one of his sheds on his farm in Rexford, New York and apparently threw out a great deal of his basic research data which left him with only his test results. We are fairly sure that Dr. Graves used the same tests as Dr. Harvey. All these tests were available during this time period.

Please keep in mind that both of these researchers worked with a very small number of subjects in the beginning of their basic studies. Since establishing their theoretical positions they have expanded their data bases. Also note that the 4 systems (4-5-6-7) were the basic systems identified through research by Dr. Graves in the 1950s before he discovered systems 3 and 8. Dr. Graves' test results can be found in the tape transcription of the presentation by Dr. Graves at the Washington School of Psychiatry Seminar on Levels of Existence on October 16, 1971.

Intelligence

Cognitive Complexity

Religion

Authoritarianism

Dogmatism

Right Opinionation

Left Opinionation

Rigidity

Deference

Autonomy

Affiliation

Aggressiveness

Self Causality

"Nettler" Anomie

Self Concept

Scott's Scale of Values

Honesty

Kindness

Loyalty

Independence

Religiousness

Desire to be Different

Machiavellianism

Cue Utilization

Redundancy

Relevance of Questions

Change of Set

Using Adjectives

Putting Paragraphs Together

Integrating wishes

Attaining new concept speed

Doodlebug time

Doodlebug help sought

Arguing against belief in public and private

Arguing against belief in public

Arguing against belief in private

Creating novelty

Maintenance of belief

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