Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning
Fall 1997, pp. 56-63
The Role of the Personal Fable in Adolescent
Service-Learning and Critical Reflection
Michelle R. Dunlap
Connecticut College
The reflection journals of 27 later-adolescent college students engaged in service-learning were contentanalyzed. The themes of the personal fable or hero syndrome, guilt and anger and greater awareness of
the complexity of issues of social oppression emerged as major issues. It is proposed that exposure to,
and discussion of, the themes, and the critical reflections of previous service-learners, will be useful to
students and to persons working with students who are in training for service-learning assignments.
The Personal Fable
The "personal fable" is defined by developmental psychologists as the adolescent cognitive tendency to believe that one's own life will be unique
and heroic (Adams, Gullotta, & MarkstromAdams, 1994; Berger & Thompson, 1995; Elkind,
1964, 1984; Gilligan, Murphy, & Tappan, 1990;
Kaplan, 1991; Muuss, 1988; Seifert & Hoffnung,
1997). The personal fable grows out of the normal
process of adolescent egocentric thinking, which is
the tendency to introspectively see oneself as personally responsible for, and uniquely capable of,
correcting the social ills of the world (Berger &
Thompson, 1995; Seifert & Hoffnung, 1997).
Seeing oneself as part of a heroic mission partially
relates to common adolescent self-consciousness
and normal self-absorptive tendencies. It also
relates to an ethic of care in adolescent moral reasoning, especially for females (Enright, Lapsley, &
Shukla, 1979; Gilligan, 1982; Muuss, 1994).
Berger and Thompson (1995) describe the personal fable in the following manner:
[An] example of adolescent egocentrism is the
personal fable, through which adolescents
imagine their own lives as unique, heroic or
even mythical. They perceive themselves as
different from others, distinguished by unique
experiences, perspectives, and values.
Sometimes adolescents see themselves as destined for honor and glory, discovering a cure
for cancer, authoring a masterpiece, influencing the social order...Other adolescents see
themselves destined for fame and fortune,
becoming a rock or movie star, a sports hero, a
business tycoon, or whatever else will make
millions (having already decided that a high
school education is a waste of time). (p. 556)
The concept of the personal fable grew
out of Jean Piaget's concept of adolescent idealism
(Inhelder & Piaget, 1958). According to Piaget's
observations, as teenagers' cognitive-intellectual
capabilities grow and improve over time, and as
they begin to take on more adult-like responsibilities, roles, and decision-making, changes occur in
their style of thinking about their world. Inhelder &
Piaget (1958) explain:
The adolescent is an individual who is still
growing, but one who begins to think of the
future--i.e., of his present or future work in
society. Thus, to his current activities he adds
a life program for later "adult" activities.
Further, in most cases in our societies, the adolescent is the individual who in attempting to
plan his present or future work in adult society
also has the idea...of changing this society,
whether in some limited area or completely.
(pp. 338-339)
Cognitive development during adolescence
increases young people's awareness of the world
and its operations, and it also allows them to think
in terms of possibilities rather than in strictly in
terms of the concrete and fantasy terms that are
more characteristic of the younger years. Their
emerging ability to cognitively and intellectually
consider both the problems and the possibilities
regarding social issues has the potential to bring
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