Egocentrism, Theories of

Egocentrism is a term used by Jean Piaget to describe the inability on the part of children to comprehend any point of view other than their own. His theory of cognitive development has had a profound influence on educational programming for children from preschool age through adolescence. This stage development theory posits egocentric thinking as normal in pre–school-age children in the preoperational phase of development. Preoperational refers to the inability of children to coordinate two aspects of a relationship (e.g., size and number of an object such as coins) at the same time. An egocentric individual may be described as regarding the self as the center of all things: as having little respect for the thoughts, interests, or feelings of others. A common synonym is the term selfcenteredness and is often used to describe attempts to gain personal recognition for oneself.

Piaget developed his theory regarding egocentrism in preschoolers through observing children involved in the now famous three-mountain experiment. He concluded that preschoolers were unable to take another person's visual perspective. He described this thinking as egocentric, that is, the child was mistaken in thinking that the other person sees the view that they see. He noted in the experiment that it was not until the age of 9 or 10 that the children were able to take the perspective of another.

Child development researchers have conducted similar experiments and have concluded that [Page 329]preschoolers are in fact somewhat more competent than Piaget concluded. These experiments, coupled with Piaget's work, have had a significant impact on educational programming for preschoolers and schoolage children alike. Allowing children to physically manipulate the material, using simpler and more attractive displays, as well as training and practice, have all increased performance on experimental tasks. Educators have developed curricula and instructional strategies based in part on these findings, and Piaget's views that cognitive development (e.g., progression from egocentric thinking to consideration of others) may be enhanced and enriched through hands-on, problem-solving tasks.

Egocentrism with regard to adolescents has been cited repeatedly in the professional literature to explain certain aspects of their behavior. One result of egocentrism is that adolescents often think and behave as if others are admiring or criticizing them (imaginary audience), as if they are constantly on stage. A second is the belief that their life is unique (personal fable)and contains a sense of invulnerability (“It will happen to them but not to me”). Piaget theorized that this adolescent egocentrism could be abated through continued intellectual development and through social interactions. Through cognitive maturation and personal interaction experiences, the adolescent learns that others are not as interested in them as they thought, and that others share many of the same feelings, thoughts, and fears. The intuitive appeal of these concepts, however, has been lessened through experiments that generally support multidimensional causes for adolescent behavior. The personal fable proposition has not been consistently linked to risk-taking behavior, and adolescents'beliefs about others watching them appear to be more grounded in reality than the result of egocentric thinking. Nevertheless, egocentrism remains a term embedded in the child development literature as well as in descriptions of adult thinking and behavior.

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