The "new look" at the imaginary audience and personal fable
toward a general model of adolescent ego development
pp. 109-129
in: Daniel K. Lapsley, F. C. Power (eds), Self, ego, and identity, Berlin, Springer, 1988Abstract
In an often-cited passage, Piaget has remarked, "A day will come when the psychology of cognitive functions and psychoanalysis will have to fuse in a general theory which will improve both through mutual correction, and starting right now we should be preparing for that prospect by showing the relations which could exist between them" (cited in Noam, Kohlberg, & Snarey, 1983, p. 59). As if to redeem Piaget's prophecy, a number of papers have appeared over the years that have attempted to explore the common ground between (orthodox and revisionist) psychoanalytic and structural developmental theory (e.g., Greenspan, 1979; Lester, 1983; Shapiro, 1963; Wolff, 1960). As Noam et al. (1983) point out, this comparative work has not led to any systematic integration of the two theories. What precludes a full integration is the fact that the two theories are beset by important paradigmatic differences. There is an emerging consensus, however, that some rapprochement is necessary in order to further our understanding of "developmental psychopathology" (Noam, this volume; Noam, 1986; Noam et al., 1983; Selman, 1980). Hence, the search for meaningful integrative linkages has entered a new phase.