Egocentrism Case

A. Adolescent egocentrism can be dangerous for a 14 year old boy because if he is a good person and up until now has only been exposed to good people then it is easy to trust the wrong person and be taken advantage of. For the sake of conversation we will assume that Paul lives at home with a single mom and does not have his father around, or even a father figure. It would be very easy for a man to walk into his life and show him a little of the attention he has been without and because he assumes everyone sees life in the same light that he does, that man may have ill intentions and only showing him this newfound attention so that he can take advantage of him in more ways than one.

B. The invincibility fable would cause Paul to feel like he can do anything without realizing that his actions have consequences. At the age of 14 kids are starting to feel like they are grown and may start experimenting with more grown up activities, such as both legal and illegal substances. If Paul is at the stage where he is ready to start experiencing harmful substances to be more socially accepted, he is much more likely to overdose or cause other bodily harm because he is not fully aware that even the simplest actions can have the most dangerous outcomes, especially if his peers are doing the same things and have not had a negative reaction yet.

C. Another cognitive distortion that adolescents face is personal fable. Since they believe the world is concentrating on them at all times, this may create an over exaggerated idea of how important they are to the rest of the world. Paul may display this type of behavior in a classroom setting, there is always that kid that thinks everyone is waiting to hear their opinion on every topic discussed in class and so they will interrupt anyone else that may also try and express their point of view. Paul may also be likely to make rude jokes about others without realizing the effect it may have on that individual because he feels that he is so important that whatever he has to say should be accepted by all.

D. For Paul to be experiencing imaginary audience at the age of 14 will likely increase his already present self-conscious feeling about his changing body. As a girl I remember being very insecure at this age because in a swim suit I was completely flat chested and I was so embarrassed because I felt like everyone was staring at me and laughing. These same sorts of insecurities are likely felt by adolescent boys that have not quite developed a muscular, post puberty physique. This is the age that most boys start really dating and it can put a damper on this process if they are not comfortable in their own skin when they think everyone is looking at them.

E. Identity formation will give Paul the confidence to choose his own actions and interests without feeling so influenced by what his peers are doing. If he is able to develop a strong identity he will likely avoid peer pressure to experiment