Elsevier

Developmental Review

Volume 5, Issue 3, September 1985, Pages 201-217
Developmental Review

Another look at the theoretical assumptions of adolescent egocentrism

https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-2297(85)90009-7Get rights and content

Abstract

We attempt in this paper to reevaluate the theoretical assumptions of D. Elkind's theory of adolescent egocentrism Child Development, 38, 1025–1034). We argue that the construct is not well placed in the ontogenetic context of Piagetian logical development, and that the theory cannot account for stage transition or the appearance of the imaginary audience (IA) and personal fable (PF) components. We argue that the IA and PF constructions are better understood as problems in interpersonal understanding. These components are reinterpreted in terms of stage sequence that describes the ontogenesis of interpersonal understanding. The advantages of this model are highlighted.

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    Second, the development of social perspective taking results in adolescents becoming increasingly aware that others have the capacity to evaluate them. This may subsequently lead them to overestimate the extent to which this actually occurs (Lapsely and Murphy, 1985). It should be noted that more recent studies suggest that the imaginary audience peaks in adolescence but persists into young adulthood, and that even older adults exhibit some phenomena associated with it (Frankenberger, 2000).

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    Although not specified in Piaget’s theory, some of the research in the mid-1980s began to move in this direction (e.g., Lapsley, 1993; Lapsley & Murphy, 1985; Vartanian, 2000). For example, instead of viewing adolescent egocentrism solely as the negative by-product of cognitive growth, Lapsley and Murphy (1985) focused on issues of interpersonal understanding within social-cognitive development that might naturally lead to egocentric forms of thought. Lapsley (1993) went on to recast these interpersonal issues in the more psychodynamic terms of object-relational ideation and processes of separation-individuation.

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