Imaginary Audience Behavior and its Relationship to Operational thought and Social Experience

Abstract

Little research has been done to test hypotheses generated from Elkind's theory of adolescent egocentrism and its related construct, the imaginary audience. This study used Elkind and Bowen's Imaginary Audience Scale and investigated the relationship of cognitive developmental level and social experience to heightened sensitivity to the existence of an imaginary audience. It was predicted that social experience, as indicated by grade level and transition from elementary to high school, would relate to heightened sensitivity at least as consistently as cognitive level and that formal operational thought would not occur as prerequisite to this aspect of adolescent egocentrism, depending on social experience. Six hundred and seventy-five students in grades 6, 8, 9, and 12 were studied. Results indicated that higher sensitivity to an imaginary audience occurred at grades 8 and 9 regardless of cognitive level. In fact formal operational thinkers were observed only at grade 12 (n = 8), indicating that formal operational thought is not necessary in accounting for the onset of adolescent egocentrism, at least as represented by an imaginary audience.

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