Paper Example on Imaginary Audience

What Is the Imaginary Audience and How Does It Affect Behavior?

Imaginary audience is an egocentric psychological state that occurs among the adolescents. It is the term that was coined by Piaget, and he stated that children center their point of view that they cannot accommodate people opinions (Bell & Bromnick, 2003). It is primarily characterized by the belief that individuals around are always watching over him/her. It is also regarded as a form of cognitive development that supports personal development. During this stage, the adolescents have high chances of gaining heightened feelings of invincibility that can result in dangerous behaviors like substance abuse caused by carelessness (Bell & Bromnick, 2003).

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Imagery audience is real among the adolescents, and it seems in how they behave and walk around. It is the reason the adolescents become sensitive to how they dress, they look and how they walk because they feel someone is watching them. Imagery audience also plays a role in social media posts by the adolescents. The state makes the adolescents believe that someone is watching their photos online such as parents, family members. Consequently, they are keen on what they post online on social media (Bell & Bromnick, 2003).

What Is the Personal Fable and How Does It Relate to the Concept of the Imaginary Audience?

Personal fable is the belief that is held by the adolescents by making them feel special, unique to the extent that they cannot be affected by the problems or any challenges regardless of how they behave. Imaginary audience and the personal fable are still regarded as a prototypical representation of the social cognitive process among the adolescents. It is also argued that both personal fable and imaginary audience are as a result of increases self-consciousness in a concern to overcome the thoughts with others (Goossens, 2002). In real life, an example of the personal fable is when an adolescent imagines that they are only old people die but not them. As much as it is a stage, it places the adolescents at the age of problems since they believe that they are special than others. The point makes it hard to convince the adolescents of the dangers such as the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). At this stage, adolescents may be convinced that they cannot be affected by STDs because they are unique or unique and this can hurt the spread of the disease.

How Does the Text Suggest That Peer Relationships Change During Adolescence?

The changes in adolescent's physical and cognitive development are followed by the main changes in adolescents relationships with others. At the adolescent stage, they distance themselves from the parents, and they tend to focus on social interactions with their peers. It is the same pattern that I followed as an adolescent where at some point I hated my parents and could not handle them a single minute. During this time, I used to visit my friends, and we ended up having sleepovers always as long as I was away from home. However, the changes are essential as they help the adolescents to grow emotionally and socially. As the relationship pattern changes, the adolescents learn how to associate with others and also relate. Parenting style affects the relationships and the decisions that the adolescents make. For instance, growing up in s strict form of parenting, the adolescents tend to avoid their parents remarkably, and this affects the relationship even in their futures years. They also tend to develop close relationships with their peers compared to the peers.

References

Bell, J., & Bromnick, D. (2003). The Social Reality of the Imaginary Audience: A Grounded Theory Approach. Adolescence. Research Gate, 205-233.

Goossens, L. (2002). The Imaginary Audience and Personal Fable: Factor Analyses and Concurrent Validity of the "New Look" Measures. Journal of Psychology, 213-215.