Work with IAD Research
The Institute for Adult Development works with postgraduate researchers, supervisors, universities, research groups and organisations investigating adult development, self-awareness, metacognition, cognitive complexity and the construction of human response.
Researchers do not need to begin by agreeing with CDT. Rigorous replication, critique, comparison and investigation of the theory’s limits are welcomed alongside its extension and application.
Clarify a dissertation or thesis question, identify relevant CDT constructs and understand the theory’s research genealogy.
Develop comparative studies, publications, grant proposals and interdisciplinary research partnerships.
Consider study design, construct definition, instruments, coding, mixed methods, replication and responsible interpretation.
Scope rigorous studies into adult development, leadership cognition, education, awareness and developmental practice.
Locate primary sources, historical materials and research resources, with data access considered through appropriate governance.
Invite a research seminar, critical discussion, subject-matter review or contribution to an academic event.
Research leadership
Dr Darren Stevens
Dr Stevens is available as a research collaborator, subject-matter adviser and independent research consultant. He supports researchers in navigating CDT’s constructs, evidence, unresolved questions and developing research programme.
His contribution can be a single specialist consultation or a longer collaboration shaped around the project, institution, research stage and available funding.
Research overview
Constructed Development Theory began as an original programme of doctoral research and has since become a framework used by other researchers to form and investigate their own questions. The IAD’s research role is to document that development accurately, encourage rigorous inquiry and make the available evidence easier to find and assess.
Independent academic use is an important milestone, but it is not presented here as validation by itself. Each study should be evaluated on its research question, method, evidence and conclusions.
CDT research genealogy
The genealogy records how CDT has moved from the originator’s research into independent academic application. Over time, this section can show not only chronology but also how later studies adapt, question or extend the original constructs.
Doctoral origins of CDT
Dr Darren Stevens’ doctoral research provided the empirical and conceptual foundations from which Constructed Development Theory was developed.
Frameworks, constructs and applied methods
CDT developed into an interconnected research programme addressing awareness, the construction of thinking, Cognitive Intentions and Dynamic Intelligence across adult contexts.
Postgraduate research by other scholars
Two Master’s degrees have now been completed by researchers other than CDT’s originator, with CDT forming a significant part of their academic work.
New questions, settings and methods
The next phase is to support transparent replication, critique and extension while connecting researchers working across disciplines and regions.
Completed postgraduate research
This register will provide a stable record of completed dissertations and theses that use, examine or extend CDT. Public entries should include enough information for readers to locate or request the work.
Joseph Spears-Smith’s mixed-methods study examined how Lancashire Constabulary employees understood and enacted procedural and organisational justice, and how awareness and Thinking Styles may influence police legitimacy and “policing by consent”.
Reported findings Procedural and organisational justice were not at the forefront of interviewees’ conscious awareness. The study also found that volunteers could deliver these forms of justice without consciously recognising that they were doing so. The research record identifies further implications where Thinking Styles may constrain delivery or where recruitment and promotion repeatedly select similar styles.
Access A public repository link is not yet listed. Contact IAD for access information.
Ivo Schlenter’s Master’s research examines healthcare leadership through an adult-development lens. A verified public abstract, CDT construct map, methodology and findings will be added when the researcher’s final public summary has been prepared.
Current research programme
IAD Research is building a programme around questions that can test CDT’s constructs, examine their limits and place them in dialogue with established work across adult development, metacognition, psychology, education and organisational research.
Research into police decision-making, investigative thinking, procedural justice, legitimacy, leadership and adult development. Explore the programme →
Re-examine a CDT claim using a new sample, established comparison measure, different cultural setting or independent analytic team.
Connect adult development with leadership, education, coaching, cognitive science, organisational life or therapeutic practice.
Core research themes
CDT supports research at the intersection of adult development, cognition, awareness and applied practice. The following themes provide a growing structure for organising studies and identifying gaps.
How dynamic awareness and the construction of thinking can be conceptualised, observed and measured, including AQ and TQ.
The underlying heuristics that shape attention, interpretation, choice and response across contexts.
The live developmental process connecting Intention, Awareness, Choice and Response, including the IACR process model.
Applications of CDT in coaching, leadership, education, organisational life and other adult-development settings.
Reliability, validity, coding, measurement, mixed methods and the responsible interpretation of developmental data.
Replication, boundary conditions and comparison with related developmental, cognitive and metacognitive theories.
Publications & preprints
This catalogue will bring together peer-reviewed articles, books and chapters, conference papers, working papers and preprints. Entries should state their review status and link to the authoritative publisher, repository or persistent identifier.
The foundational doctoral research from which CDT developed. Open on ResearchGate →
Research presentation · 2021 What is Constructed Development Theory?A concise presentation of the theory, its constructs and questions. Open on ResearchGate →
Professional research talk · 2019 Does Dynamic Intelligence exist as a conceptual measure of self-awareness?CDT and Dynamic Intelligence presented to the systems-practice community. Open resource →
Research profile Dr Darren Stevens on ResearchGateThesis, presentations, papers, preprints and developing research outputs. View profile →
Datasets & evidence base
The evidence register will describe the empirical basis available for scrutiny and further inquiry. Its purpose is to clarify what exists, what can be accessed and what restrictions apply—not to imply that all data can or should be openly released.
Public descriptions of the doctoral programme report a historical corpus of more than 8,200 Identity Compass self-report profiles, alongside smaller quantitative and qualitative studies. The thesis remains the primary source for assessing the design, analysis, findings and limitations.
Researchers and practitioners may propose postgraduate datasets, replications, instrument studies and carefully governed practice-based evidence for inclusion.
Research standards & governance
IAD Research aims to make collaboration easier without weakening the academic, ethical and legal responsibilities attached to research involving people, developmental assessment or personal data.
Discuss a research project
Introduce your institution or organisation, your research stage, the question or CDT construct you want to investigate, and the kind of contribution you are seeking from IAD Research or Dr Darren Stevens.