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Adolescent Egocentrism

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Adolescent egocentrism is a term that was first discussed by a psychologist named David Elkind. Mr. Elkind discusses that child between the ages of 11-12 through 15-16 develop a massive ego regarding how the world sees them. This is sometimes categorized into 2 parts: personal fable and imaginary audience (Elkind, 1967).

For example, a 14 year old girl may spend hours prepping and primping herself for school and make remarks such as “everyone will think I am a loser if I do not wear these jeans tomorrow!” This is an example of an imaginary audience. “Everyone” will not think she is a loser because “everyone” does not exist. The ego of this 14 year old girl has lead her to believe that she is the center of her own world and that everything, small or large, she does will be noticed and that world will stop revolving if she does not meet the standards she alone has placed for herself.

Personal fable is a sister emotion to an imaginary audience. Personal fables are beliefs that everything you do or feel has never been felt before and are completely yours and yours alone. Personal fables are centered only on the individual itself such as; the belief that a girl’s heart is broken and no one will ever understand how much it hurts or that a 16 year old boy can drive dangerously fast and no one will ever get hurt are example of personal fables. These personal fables can be harmful because they are so genuine in the belief holder’s mind and the adolescent is so self-absorbed, through no fault of their own, that the adolescent’s decision making skills are altered, making their actual decisions dangerous to themselves and to others around them. An example of a dangerous decision would be a 15 year old boy believing that he can drink all the beer he wants and not only not get drunk but that he can also drive his father’s car without any consequences. The adolescent

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