Demand characteristics and self-report measures of imaginary audience sensitivity: implications for interpreting age differences in adolescent egocentrism.
Self-consciousness during early adolescence has been explained as an outcome of adolescent egocentrism, in which adolescents create an imaginary audience (IA) of attentive, critical peers. The possibility that such self-consciousness might result from contact with peers who are more attentive and critical than those encountered during childhood or adulthood has not been considered. Study 1 tested whether young adults, who are not theoretically susceptible to IA, could be made to receive high scores on IA and self-consciousness measures by having them complete a procedure in 1 of 3 laboratory conditions-a critical audience, a noncritical audience, or no audience. However, participants in the critical-audience condition received significantly lower IA and self-consciousness scores than participants in the no-audience condition did. Study 2 tested whether the directions given to Study 1 participants might have been responsible for the unexpected findings. Results indicated that participants instructed to give mature-sounding responses received lower IA/self-consciousness scores than did those asked to report their honest opinions. Together, the results of Studies 1 and 2 indicated that survey measures of IA are subject to demand characteristics and highlighted the need to interpret with caution age differences in IA as traditionally assessed.
Vartanian
L R
LR
Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne 46805-1499, USA. VartaniL@ipfw.edu
Powlishta
K K
KK
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires