The imaginary audience and the personal fable: A test of Elkind’s theory of adolescent egocentrism

The aim of this research was to test empirically Elkind's (1967, 1970, 1978) Piagetian theoretical formulation for the developmental nature of adolescent egocentrism. The contribution of this study is threefold because it includes: 1) Pubertal development (with a distinction between status and timing), which has been systematically ignored by other investigators; 2) a broad age range (11-18 year-old adolescents); and 3) a variety of manifestations and dimensions of egocentrism. The association of the two main forms of adolescent egocentrism—the imaginary audience and the personal fable—with age, gender, pubertal development, and formal operational thought was investigated. Participants were 314 adolescents who completed the Physical Development Scale (Petersen, Crockett, Richards, & Boxer, 1988), a battery of cognitive tasks (Demetriou, Efklides, & Platsidou, 1993), the Imaginary Audience Scale (Elkind & Bowen, 1979), the New Imaginary Audience Scale (Lapsley, Fitzgerald, Rice, & Jackson, 1989), the Personal Fable Scale (Elkind, personal communication, August 10, 1993), and the New Personal Fable Scale (Lapsley et al., 1989). Findings provided partial support for Elkind's hypothesis. Only the imaginary audience in the form of self-consciousness was associated with grade. Systematic gender differences emerged for several dimensions of imaginary audience and personal fable. For only a few dimensions of imaginary audience and personal fable the expected associations with pubertal and cognitive development, as well as interesting interaction effects, were found. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for Elkind's theory and for alternative interpretations of imaginary audience and personal fable

The imaginary audience and the personal fable in relation to the separation-individuation process during adolescence

Lapsley’s (1993) “New Look” model for the interpretation of adolescent egocentrism, as an alternative to the classic cognitive one formulated by Elkind (1967), was tested in this study. According to the “New Look” model, the two manifestations of adolescent egocentrism – the imaginary audience and the personal fable – are adaptive coping mechanisms used by adolescents in their attempt to deal with the stressful developmental aim of separation-individuation. Two-hundred ninety seven adolescents 11-18 years’ old completed the Imaginary Audience Scale (Elkind & Bowen, 1979), the New Imaginary Audience Scale (Lapsley, Fitzgerald, Rice, & Jackson, 1989), the Personal Fable Scale (Elkind, personal communication, August 10, 1993), the New Personal Fable Scale (Lapsley et al., 1989), and the Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence (Levine, Green, & Millon, 1986; Levine & Saintonge, 1993). The “New Look” model was generally supported by the data. The various dimensions of separation were significantly associated with the imaginary audience, whereas the dimensions of individuation had stronger links with the personal fable. In addition, some associations were found between the imaginary audience and individuation, as well as between the personal fable and separation. Consistent age and gender differences in the variables studied were found. Results are discussed in the framework of the literature on adolescent egocentrism and on parent-adolescent relations

Children's perceptions of loneliness

The aim of this study was to examine if Hymel, Tarulli, Hayden Thomson, and Terrell-Deutsch's (1999) three-dimension model of children's loneliness perceptions could be applied in Greece, and to examine age and gender differences in these perceptions. In addition, a more detailed examination of the emotional dimension in the perceptions of loneliness was attempted, based on Parkhurst and Hopmeyer's (1999) hypotheses for the emotions associated with loneliness. One-hundred and eighty 2nd-, 4th-, and 6th- grade children from Athens were interviewed about their understanding and experience of loneliness. Responses fit Hymel et al.'s (1999) model for the perceptions of loneliness, with some additions. Children perceived loneliness as a painful experience with emotional, cognitive, and contextual dimensions. Statistically significant age and gender differences were found in these dimensions, as well as in the loneliness-related emotions. The implications of these findings for the existing theoretical views on loneliness are discussed and suggestions for future research are made

Loneliness and social dissatisfaction: Its relation with children’s self-efficacy for peer interaction

We examined the relation of children's loneliness and social dissatisfaction in school to self-efficacy for peer interaction in the same context. Two hundred thirty-eight fourth- and sixth-grade Greek children completed Asher, Hymel, and Renshaw's (1984) Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire-Greek version, and Wheeler and Ladd's (1982) Children's Self-Efficacy for Peer Interaction Scale-Greek version. The instruments showed adequate reliability and validity. Results indicated a modest but significant negative correlation between the variables studied. The correlation was stronger for social dissatisfaction than for loneliness; also, loneliness and social dissatisfaction were higher for the nonconflict than for the conflict peer interactions, and this finding was consistent across grade and sex. Sixth graders had marginally significantly higher loneliness scores than fourth graders, and girls had marginally significantly higher loneliness scores than boys. School achievement was negatively related to social dissatisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of the existing literature on children's loneliness and self-efficacy

Academic intrinsic motivation and perceived academic competence in Greek elementary students with and without learning disabilities

The aim of this study was to examine differences in intrinsic motivation and perceived academic competence as well as in their association between 5th- and 6th-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) (n= 40) and their typically achieving peers. Participants were 980 Greek elementary students from the metropolitan area of Athens. As predicted, students with LD showed lower intrinsic motivation and perceived academic competence than students without LD almost across all subscales. Exceptions were noticed in intrinsic motivation concerning curiosity/interest and history subscales as well as perceptions of academic competence in the subjects of history and science. Support was found that among typically achieving students intrinsic motivation was positively and significantly related at a moderate level to perceived academic competence across all subscales, as opposed to students with LD, for whom few correlations were found

The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale in a Greek sample of preadolescents: Reliability and validity data

The article examines the psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the Greek version of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS: Pianta, 2001), as well as the quality of this relationship in preadolescents. A large body of relevant research has examined the relationship between students and teachers during the preschool and early childhood years. ln this study, 28 teachers completed the STRS and the adaptive functioning subscale of the Teacher's Report Form for their 502 students (fifth and sixth graders). The results showed that STRS exhibited adequate internal consistency and low standard error of measurement. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the three factors of the scale -conflict, closeness, and dependency- in the Greek sample of preadolescents. However, the student-teacher relationship presented a somewhat different picture compared to the U.S.A. samples of young students. For example, closeness and dependency were somewhat likely to co-exist in teachers' representations of relationships. Dependency shared little variance with the total relationship score and age and gender differences were observed. The expected findings emerged for the links with adaptive functioning. For example, conflict was the strongest (negative) correlate of adaptive functioning. The developmental implications of these data for the student-teacher relationship during preadolescence are discussed

Supplemental Material - Social Withdrawal, Solitude, and Existential Concerns in Emerging Adulthood

Supplemental Material for Social Withdrawal, Solitude, and Existential Concerns in Emerging Adulthood by Evangelia P. Galanaki, Larry J. Nelson, and Faye Antoniou in Emerging Adulthood</p

Health education: Effects on classroom climate and physical activity

Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between classroom psychological climate and the physical and sedentary behaviour of primary school students after the implementation of an innovative education programme regarding nutrition and physical activity. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting Study participants were 729 students, aged 8–10 years, in the third and fourth grade of 30 public primary schools in the Athens Metropolitan Area. Methods Students were randomly assigned to three study groups: an Intensive Intervention Group (IIG) that underwent an intensive nutrition and physical activity education programme delivered by specialised personnel and teachers, an Intervention Group (IG) that underwent a less intensive programme delivered by their regular teacher and a Control Group (CG) that received no instruction. Classroom Psychological Climate (CPC) was measured in all groups, and the data regarding physical activity and sedentary lifestyle habits, such as the time spent viewing TV or video games (screen time), were recorded. Results Friction declined and satisfaction increased significantly after the intervention in the IG compared with the CG. There was no significant difference in physical activity and screen time between the groups. Daily screen time was positively associated with increased friction, which is a measure of conflicts between students in the school environment. Conclusion A school nutrition and physical activity education programme was shown to decrease friction by decreasing daily screen time and increasing outdoor activities. These findings also suggest that teachers alone may be more effective in delivering optional health education programmes than specialised personnel and instructors