Personal fable

Personal fable

The personal fable is term coined by David Elkind (1967) that is used in psychology to describe a form of egocentrism normally exhibited during early adolescence, and it is characterized by an over-differentiating of one's experiences and feelings from others to the point of assuming those experiences are unique from those of others. A person might believe that he is the only one who can experience whatever feelings of joy, horror, misery, or confusion he might encounter. [Elkind, D. (1967). Egocentrism in adolescence. "Child Development, 38", 1025-1034.]

Examples

Examples of personal fable can be seen in the following typified assertions made by adolescents: [Elkind, D.] [Harter, S. (1999). "The cognitive and social construction of the developing self." New York: Guilford Press. P.76]

*"Nobody understands me."
*"My parents just don't know what I'm going through-- what do "they" know about what it's like being a teenager?"
*"You just don't know how it feels."
*"I just got dumped by the girl I love, and nobody could ever experience the crushing sadness I'm going through."

Imaginary audience

Evolving from the same egocentrism and ideas of playing the central part in one's personal fable, adolescents may become preoccupied with what others in their peer groups think of them. [Elkind, D.] [Harter, S.] [Rosenberg, M. (1979). "Conceiving the self". New York: Basic Books.] Because adolescents become so involved with others' opinions, they believe that an imaginary audience is scrutinizing them wherever they are. No matter where they go in public, they think that their outward behaviors and appearances will always be watched like an actor on stage, and that all eyes will be fixated on them-- such that every facial blemish or misstep will be noticed. [Elkind, D.] So, where a teenage girl might spend hours putting on makeup to hide acne only to give up and assume everyone will think she is ugly, a teenage boy might also give up when he thinks his mouthwash is not working and that everyone will notice his horrible breath.

References


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