Final answer:
Formal operational egocentrism is a characteristic of adolescent thinking where an individual may assume that others share their views and does not fully recognize the unique perspectives of others. This developmental phase precedes the development of cognitive empathy and the eventual achievement of postformal thought.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of egocentrism defined by the formal operational stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development is one that involves adolescents being limited in their ability to take the perspective of others. During this stage, an individual may believe that others share the same thoughts, feelings, and views. This could manifest in an adolescent overestimating the extent to which their own experiences or characteristics are noticed by others, such as a teenager thinking a small pimple is highly visible to everyone else.
Egocentrism in the formal operational stage makes it challenging for adolescents to recognize that other people have their own unique thoughts and feelings. This differs from cognitive empathy, which tends to increase during adolescence and helps in understanding the perspectives of others. Eventually, many individuals develop what is considered postformal thought, where decisions are made based on a combination of logic and emotion, taking into account different situations and circumstances.