Egocentrism in older adults: Paget’s Three Mountains Task Revisited
Egocentrism may be defined as ‘the error of assuming that one’s subjective impression of a situation equates to its objective reality, or (erroneously) believing that other people’s perceptions and knowledge bases are the same as one’s own.(Stuart Hamilton). The first theory that was described was preschool (3 to 5 years) Imitative vs. . . . . Guilt- Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. The next stage that was defined was school age (6-to 11 years) Industry vs. Inferiority-Children needs to cope with new social and academic demands. These two theories are surrender with Piglet the mountain task of logical development. These two theories are described upon a demonstration known as the three mountain task
The first experiment is when a child is place in front of a tabletop model of three mountains, and is asked to select a picture showing the view he or she can see from a set of alternatives. This is usually done correctly and shows that he/she understands what they just did. However the next experiment is when the child is shown a doll and sitting at another table. The child is asked the same question but instead ask the view that the doll can see. Children under 8 have trouble with this task which refers to Erikson theory that children need to cope with new social and academic demands. The child basically had to try to determine the angle in which the doll was looking. There was a test assessed on five age groups that four people conducted. The age group that was assessed was 7,11,21,44, and 76. The last three theories that was described was Young Adulthood (40-65) Intimacy vs. Isolation- Young adult needs to form intimate loving relations. Middle Adulthood
