In: Psychology
Egocentric speech is the act of a child talking to himself or herself, usually through an event or activity. Egocentric speech is related to the egocentric stage of development, in which children can't understand the experiences, feelings, and thoughts of their peers.For example, a four-year-old girl may say things aloud when playing on her own or explain what she is doing, as if she was talking to someone. If playing with a doll, she might say something like: 'Now I am going to take you to the table.' If stacking blocks, the four-year-old may say: 'See, I'm putting one block on this one.
According to the developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, children between the ages of three and five go through a stage called egocentrism.
Piaget believed that when children talked to themselves, they did it for self-centered purposes and without taking others and their thoughts into consideration. According to Piaget, because children don't really communicate with peers , they resort to talking to themselves.