In this article, we will discuss Egocentrism.
What is Egocentrism?
Egocentrism starts strong in early childhood but weakens. Piaget noted that children feel great difficulty accepting the views of others and Piaget called this egocentrism. Egocentrism is when children experience difficulty in experiencing others person’s perspectives.
Preschool children are unable to take the viewpoint of others. They have difficulty understanding that other people can reach conclusions different from their own. This preschool egocentrism is replaced in the school years by a different kind of egocentrism: one that permits more flexibility, logic and objectivity.
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The egocentrism of young children encourages them to follow three beliefs:
- Imminent justice: wrongdoing invariably leads to punishment.
- Objective Consequences: the morality of an act is judged by its objective consequences, not the objective intentions of the persons.
- Absolutism: Young school children believe in the absolutism of moral perspective. They believe that there is only one correct moral conclusion per circumstance.
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An important aspect of the psychosocial development contributing to the adolescent period is adolescent egocentrism. According to Elkind, adolescent egocentrism includes a belief system carried by adolescents that makes them consider themselves as special and unique. This feeling is accompanied by the acquisition of many new psychological abilities.
Adolescent egocentrism is also characterised by an imaginary audience with increased self-consciousness. They consider that people around them especially peers observe their activities and may comment on them. They are extremely conscious of what others think of them, their appearance and everything related to themselves. Also, They perceive themselves this way as seen by them contributing to the development of self-confidence.
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