Evolutionary regularities of the "act of giving" across neo-Piagetian adult development stages and the transformative power of contemplative prayerBalas Rant, Melita (Avtor) interpersonal relationshipscharityethicshuman evolutiondemocracyadult developmentact of givingcontemplative prayerIn times of unpredictability and large-scale socioeconomic changes, we need to bring novel concepts and phenomena like solidarity and the act of giving under the focus of leadership, management, and spirituality studies. In this enclosed paper, we address how the interpretations and expectations of the act of giving evolve across the levels of consciousness, also referred as stages of adult development. We apply neo-Piagetian constructive view on the human development. To unpack these regularities, we use a mixed-method research design. The research findings reveal that the interpretations and expectations of the act of giving evolve across the stages of adult development. They exhibit the tendency to move to less conditional, self-serving, and transactional interpretations and expectations behind the act of giving. Because the movement of the adult across stages (levels of consciousness) is a slow pace process - the paper also explores possible interventions that could make people more prone to the less conditional, self-serving, and transactional act of giving regardless of the stage of development. Thus, we study the impact of contemplative prayer on the change in the interpretations and expectations of the act of giving. The impact of contemplative prayer is such that it seems that a person moves to one stage higher when it comes to the interpretations and expectations behind the act of giving.20202023-06-28 15:12:53Članek v reviji147277UDK: 177.72ISSN pri članku: 0260-4027DOI: 10.1080/02604027.2020.1810537COBISS_ID: 29215235sl