An individual's possible self is an important aspect of their life in understanding what their future may or may not hold for them. An individual's possible self also presents a conceptual link linking cognition and motivation (Markus & Nurius, 1986). “Projecting oneself into the future involves creating possible selves that represent what they could become, what they would like to become, and what they fear becoming” (Kail and Cavanaugh, 2007). The stages of Reflective Judgment are distinguished by their ability to illustrate the development of reasoning from adolescence to adulthood. The stages of reflective judgment illustrate knowledge beliefs and how they influence the development of decisive or reflective thinking skills. Jane is a high school student who has her life perfectly planned out. Or does she? Jane is a 17-year-old high school student who is only there because her parents insist she finish high school. Jane always did well in school until the age of 12. Jane became very defiant towards school because she was having difficulty with her classes and felt like no one would help her understand her school work. Therefore, she decided that she was not interested in school and that if it weren't for her parents, she would have dropped out right away. Jane is dating Mike who is now a sophomore at college. Jane and Mike have been dating since they were 15 and she loves him with all her heart. Jane's idea of ​​any future education is irrelevant. Jane has a perfect scenario planned for her future with Mike. She plans to barely graduate from high school. After graduating, she would marry Mike and later have children. Jane's plan is to have two boys and ... middle of paper ... will allow that to happen. Works Cited Kail, RV and Cavanaugh, JC (2007). Human development: A lifespan view (5th ed.). [Adobe Editions Numériques version]. doi:1009-0001-161F-00001620King, PM and Kitchener, KS (2002). The reflective judgment model: twenty years of research on epistemic cognition. In BK Hofer & PR Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing, (pp. 37-61). Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, editor. Markus, H. and Nurius, P. (1986). Possible Selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954-969. Retrieved from http://geoff.rey.angelfire.com/res/papers/MarkusH.pdfZytowski, DG and D'Achiardi-Ressler, C. (2011). Correspondence of people as a possible source of self. In Growing at work and in career: concepts, cases and contexts. (pp. 109-121). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.