The Imaginary Audience Case Study

The Imaginary Audience
According to Elkind, adolescent egocentrism constructs a state called imaginary audience where the individual imagines that several people are watching or listening to him or her. This concept creates an audience that may be appreciative or uncomplimentary, and believes that hose around them are engrossed in the adolescent’s appearance and behaviors. An example of a case study of this caliber can be examined in almost every high school social group setting. Freshman Chloe is going to be attending her first day of high school. She is already a self-conscious, shy individual and is convinced that as she walks through the front doors of the school everyone is watching her, waiting to judged her on her outfit choice and overall appearance, waiting for her to embarrass herself in …show more content…
When it comes time for lunch and Chloe finally makes a mistake by spilling something on her skirt she believes that everyone has noticed her gracelessness. Likewise, her fixation with her egocentrism causes her to believe that everyone has noticed her mistake and are all as concerned with it as she is. She believes that her imaginary audience will remember her spill and will continue to talk about her perceived clumsiness. As a result, Chloe is even more self-conscious in social settings and refuses to place herself in situations where her fabricated imaginary audience may be able to discover more errors in her gracefulness and coordination.

The Personal Fable Elkind’s concept of the personal fable is the consequence to the imaginary audience. In this, the adolescent thinks of oneself to be the center of attention and in turn cultivates a belief that they are special, different, or unique. The individual