imaginary audience
the belief of an adolescent that others are constantly focusing attention on him or her, scrutinizing behaviors, appearance, and the like. The adolescent feels as though he or she is continually the central topic of interest to a group of spectators (i.e., an audience) when in fact this is not the case (i.e., an imaginary audience). It is an early adolescent construct reflective of acute self-consciousness and is considered an expression of adolescent egocentrism. [first described by U.S. developmental psychologist David Elkind (1931– )]