The social cognition of each of three Cognitive Motivational Structures (CMSs) corresponds to one of Piaget’s stages of cognition—Symbolic, Intuitive or Operational. CMSs were first recognized in psychiatric patients. Nonetheless, although they differ in primitiveness of social cognition and motivational focus, they were not thought to be inherently abnormal. Hence, CMS theory was tested in non-clinical populations. Symbolic CMS type, whose social cognition and motivational focus are the most primitive of the three, was most frequent in two studies.  Raters were able to reliably differentiate the CMS types.  Also, one or two types differed from the other(s) in four out of 11 scales of the MMPI, while all three types differed from one another on Barron’s Ego Strength scale.  Clearly in a non-clinical population, CMS types are distinguishable entities.  Such divisions of normal populations have significant implications for treatment approaches and goals.  Caregiving setting from the interviews of the mother of a 9-year-old predicted the CMS type of that child at Age 15.  Three developmental paths, which begin to diverge during the Concrete Operational Period, are not necessarily abnormal.