The egocentric personality is a set of characteristics and behaviors generally related to pride, ambition and, in some cases, exhibitionism, people who exhibit this type of behavior tend to think that they are in the center of the gaze, concerns and the attention of others. .
Thus, egocentrism defines people for which the opinion of others is not important, emphasizing only their own opinions. When we say that someone is self-centered, we say they see the world only from their own point of view.
- The self-centered person does not have the capacity for empathy and does not care about the consequences of his actions on others.
- Let’s see this.
In the early years of our lives, we are all self-centered simply because we have not yet developed the ability to think about others; However, as we mature and our cognitive system develops, others become visible in our minds as independent individuals.
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget has studied egocentrism in the context of childhood development and noted that young children seem cognitively incapable of assimilating someone else’s point of view, so, for example, when they play hide-and-seek, they tend to cover their eyes thinking that, as they cannot see, others cannot find them either.
In adolescence, self-centered personality becomes mainly present in the relationship with peers, young people think they are the most special and much more important than others, this makes them see themselves as the center of attention, since they see themselves as the only ones who, by what they say or do , they arouse interest.
Besides, they feel misunderstood because they believe that others, basically adults, don’t have, or have had, feelings similar to their own.
Once maturity is reached, this sense of exclusivity is set aside, because we understand that there are different points of view and perspectives.
However, there are people who maintain this egocentric trait as part of their being, which in psychology is considered a cognitive bias, that is, a distortion in the processing of information that leads to a misinterpretation of what happens around them. .
“The dam simply thinks that rivers exist only to provide water. “Rabindranath Tagore.
Now that we know what the development of egocentrism is and that somehow we have all lived it in our childhood and adolescence, let us explain the main characteristics present in the egocentric personality.
Lack of empathy in the egocentric personality implies a lack of ability or difficulty getting out of oneself and understanding what the other person feels or experiences.
The less empathetic person lives immersed in her reality and ignores the world of others, her problems and her feelings, will be selfish and with little commitment to her environment and will think that everyone should act, think and feel like her.
Self-centered people, because of their feelings of greatness, focus on the constant pursuit of success, power, love, and wealth to be the best, so the struggle to achieve these unrealistic goals often creates frustration.
In many cases, this will lead to stress and anxiety overload that will aggressively affect self-esteem. In addition, your unattainable goals will have a direct impact on future enthusiasm in planning new goals.
Self-centered personality is characterized by a great disguise of security towards others, but which actually hides a deep sense of insecurity and low self-esteem. The artificial security they convey is due to the belief that everything they think is true, simply because their opinions are worth more than others.
According to psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, egocentrism is a defense mechanism, that is, it would be an unconscious psychological strategy to not face reality and maintain self-image.
Self-centered personality is also manifested in certain attitudes, such as motivation for pleasure when one feels praised and admired, which often manifests itself in the excessive desire to expect to be rewarded with the praise of others, and also in the constant need to monopolize. Attention.
On the other hand, the self-centered person needs unconditional admiration to control the ideas, actions and behaviors of those around him.
Self-centered people use emotional blackmail and continuous manipulation to compensate for their sense of insecurity; they’re only interested in others to get something in return.
“Some people have not understood that the Earth revolves around the Sun, not theirs. ” Cinchona-
As we have seen, the most common characteristics of this type of personality can be a problem for both the person and the relationships he has with others, however, identifying egocentrism is the first step in learning to face it and evolve towards change.