Some people look and wonder why they are so sure that the world revolves around them. Attempts to persuade them or somehow influence their perception of reality usually do not lead to positive results, but they only show more of their indifferent attitude to everything except their far from modest person. It is necessary to understand that such people do not intentionally behave this way, they simply have one feature, generally inherent in children. This feature is called egocentrism. It means unwillingness and inability of a person to perceive a different point of view, different from his own, focusing exclusively on his own experiences, thoughts and interests. Yes, such people - the centers of the Universe - live among us.
Egocentrism and egoism.
The concept of "egocentrism" is very consonant with another personality trait - egoism, but the meanings of these terms are still different. If egoism considers only the moral aspect of personality, then egocentrism is mainly associated with the cognitive sphere.
Thus, an egoist may neglect the feelings of other people, not because he does not even know about them. He perfectly understands that there are several points of view on one issue, that there are different people with different interests, however, he puts his own interests and his pleasure above the rest. Therefore, it behaves as if the surrounding for it is garbage.
An egocentric behaves in this way, because he sincerely does not realize that there is a point of view that differs from his own. He really does not understand that surrounding people may have other interests, emotions and thoughts. The egocentric experiences, thoughts and feelings are concentrated around one person - his own.
The concept of egocentrism in psychology.
Initially, this concept was introduced to describe the personality traits of the child. It was believed that egocentrism in children is a completely normal phenomenon, reflecting a certain level of development of the child’s cognitive sphere. Experiments were conducted with children 8-10 years old, the results of which confirmed their egocentricity.
For example, a child was shown a certain area representing a certain landscape in miniature: a mountain, trees, houses, etc. He looked at this landscape from all sides, and then sat on a chair and described what he sees. Then, a doll was planted on the opposite side, and the child was asked what she saw. The child again described what he sees himself. It was concluded that children cannot put themselves in the shoes of another.
Another scientific experience was that the baby was asked about the number of brothers or sisters. And then they asked the question how many brothers and sisters he, for example, has a brother. The kid always called one relative less than in the previous answer, i.e. he did not consider himself. He could not perceive himself as an "application" to something, only as a central figure.
Then these experiments were criticized, but fact is fact. Even if such experiments were carried out on children now, the majority would respond and do the same. After all, children's egocentrism is a certain stage of development. Indeed, newly-minted parents subordinate their life to a newborn baby, change their interests and the rhythm of life in general for his sake. Only thanks to egocentrism children learn themselves, their capabilities, desires and needs, learn to look after themselves and perform actions that they traditionally learn in childhood. As they grow up, it comes to the realization that there are different opinions on one issue, that even mom and dad sometimes do not agree with each other, that each person has his own position, etc. But there are exceptions: not all guys are aware of this thought in time.
Adult egocentrics.
Due to various factors of upbringing and personality traits, egocentrism can also manifest itself in adults. Someone manifestations of egocentrism can occur very rarely, others - more often, and still others do not change since childhood, and therefore they see the world around only from their own position.
Everybody sometimes has a similar situation: the thought of something or the desire for something so captures a person that it seems that he cannot think of anything else right now. Everything is subject to this: emotions, thinking, behavior. All - for the sake of meeting their specific needs! This is a manifestation of self-centeredness among ordinary people. And egocentrics are so captured by something related to their own desires, constantly.
Egocentrics are often described as certain philosophers who others do not understand. Indeed, such features are usually manifested in those who reflect on the meaning of life, their place on the planet, their purpose and other philosophical questions. But the answers to all these questions boil down to that “I-perception” of reality. Man understands everything only through the prism of his own personality: "Everything that happens in the world happens especially for me." Yes, yes, and the planes fly, and the moose eat salt, and the African tribes around the fire jump - all this is for him. It is difficult to interact with such people. In addition, they do not particularly strive for this interaction with others.
It should be understood that self-centeredness in adults is not very good, although, of course, this is not a disease or a pathology. But to deal with such manifestations of personality is quite difficult.
Is it possible to change the egocentric?
In children, egocentrism usually disappears during adolescence. If meaningful adults (parents, teachers) behave correctly, the child quickly realizes that he is not the central figure in the world, that there are many different points of view, that everyone has different interests, goals and life positions.
There are adults who can instill and impose "correct" thoughts on their children, which others then have to regret. Such children can either realize all these things later or not realize them at all.
And with egocentrism in adults, it takes a long time and, most importantly, to work deeply:
- First, to change someone without his will and will does not work. If an adult himself does not understand that his behavior makes it somewhat difficult for him to communicate and interact with the outside world, he will not be able to help him. Even experienced psychologists are not able to prove to a person that he is an egocentric. If a person understands why he needs to change his behavior and way of thinking, he can either work on himself or go to a specialist.
- Secondly, it is important to realize that self-centeredness is inherent in children. And for children who are 20, 40 or 50 years old, it is somewhat peculiar. It is important for those around him not to be self-indulgent and not to accept his style of live, then maybe he will understand that he has already gone out his childhood.
- If the close person is an egocentric, you can try to put him in the place of another person. It's easier to do this with the help of the questions: "How do you think I felt?" This may plunge him into a stupor ("Do others really think differently?"), But it is quite likely that the first thoughts that not everyone like himself will live in his head.
If one does not work with manifestations of egocentrism, does not in any way correct one’s behavior, then life can teach the lesson itself, and the lesson is rather cruel. After all, life usually means "treatment" does not choose.
