Self-Monitoring and the "New Look" at the Imaginary Audience and Personal Fable: An Ego-Developmental Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between self-monitoring and the imaginary audience and personal fable constructs, and their relation to levels of ego development in early and late adolescence. Subjects included 29 fifth-graders, 26 seventh-graders, 26 ninth-graders, 23 eleventh-graders, and 22 college undergraduates. Standard assessments of self-monitoring, imaginary audience, and personal fable were used. Ego development was assessed by means of the Sentence Completion Test. The results can be summarized as follows: (a) self-monitoring displays significant (decreasing) trend from early to late adolescence, as do the imaginary audience and personal fable constructs; (b) these constructs show a statistically equivalent relationship with age; (c) high self-monitoring predominates in early adolescence, low self-monitoring predominates in late adolescence; (d) high self-monitors have significantly higher imaginary audience and personal fable scores that do low self-monitors; (e) high scores on self-monitoring, imaginary audience, and personal fable are associated with lower levels of ego development. Results are discussed in terms of the "new look" at the imaginary audience and personal fable proposed by Lapsley and Rice (1987), and the possibility of phrasing an integrative theory of adolescent ego development. Directions for future research are noted.