The Psychology behind Superiority

You are familiar with people in your workplace who always have the habit of showing their superiority about everything. Be it your office teamwork, or putting forth your views, they tend to dismiss it and assume that whatever they are saying or doing is right. Hence, These kinds of people are often called as they are showing their superiority complex or dominance over everything. Moreover, while working with these individuals, there is very little or no place for others to express their views or opinion on anything. Therefore, it becomes difficult to cooperate with people who have superiority. But what could be the psychological reason behind developing the superiority?

The Need For Self-Esteem

People who have low self-esteem may find a lack of confidence in themselves. Eventually, this feeling will make them feel they are worthless or are good for nothing. To counteract these negative emotions, they may seek to assert their superiority over others. It comes in many different forms like exaggerating your achievements, showing arrogance, and talking in a way to make others down. An individual could see this attitude as a way to boost their self, but it has the opposite effects in the long run. People who have this trait are less likely to offer any support to others and labeled as arrogant.

Also Read: Psychology Behind Growth Mindset

Another way by which people can display arrogance is by boosting their self-worth by belittling others. In this way, they can feel better about themselves. But this behavior causes only the opposite as it will make individuals lose people around them and as a result, people become isolated from others. Lastly, people may also engage in activities that help them to feel superior and hide their insecurities. This includes joining a club or organization and showing competitiveness in games. By playing games can be beneficial for our mental and physical well-being but when such activities are conducted in an unhealthy manner, it could lead to bad effects.

Insecurity

We all feel insecure at some point in our life. It can be feeling insecure about your looks, your social status, etc but little do we know that some people can act superior to hide their insecurities. They cover their insecurities by acting superior to others. This behavior becomes more evident when people disregard other opinions and pass rude comments about them. If we try to understand the concept of superiority, then we can calculate that insecurity is the root cause of this trait. Because there is always conflict going on in the minds of individuals with superiority. They are in proving themselves that they are better than they actually are.

Individuals also feel that they are not good enough, so they try to show off their success. Apart from feeling insecure, they may act superior to manipulate others. The reason behind this behavior is to gain attention from people. It can be achieved by being the center of attraction or dominating your points in conversations. Lastly, superiority can have an adverse effect on relationships. As it can turn off other people and create a feeling of mistrust.

Also Read: The Psychology Behind Arrogant Nature

Childhood Dynamics

Childhood experiences could be the reason for the development of many psychological conditions. By having naracistic and over-critical parents can lead to a superiority complex. If parents are always being over-critical about their children, it will affect their self-esteem. Moreover, these parents focus on their needs and ignore their children’s needs. As a result, this leads to feelings of rejection and lack of validation. Children may also feel that they are not worthy of their parent’s attention which leads them to set unrealistic expectations that bring them closer towards inferiority.

Other than setting unreal expectations, the parents create an environment for their children where there is always criticism and judgment. This makes children think that whatever they do is not enough and it doesn’t matter how hard they try to achieve something. Furthermore, they start comparing themselves with others’ success. Hence, all these lead to create superiority in them. Because they never get heard by their child, which is why they tend to dismiss others’ views and dominate the conversation with their thoughts and views only. Manipulation, controlling, and quickly judging others are some of the traits in people with superiority.

Also Read: The Psychology Behind Manipulation

The Need To Feel Special

Whenever a person feels special, this feeling can be counted as negative and positive. Because feeling superiority can make an individual make decisions in their interest without considering others. Moreover, they can take advantage of people around them and can also feel that they dont have to follow rules like everyone does. But if see the positive side, this superiority can make people motivated towards their goals as they will constantly try to be the best version of themselves. It could also be used as a way to stay focused on your goal and do hard work toward it. Therefore, it is important to analyze how this feeling of superiority can affect us and the people around us. Only a few people respect the fact that everyone is equal and contributes their best. Additionally, there should be respect for other people unique skills and talents.

Also Read: Why Do People brag about Things?

Social Dominance Orientation

Many people around us have the desire to stay socially dominant and feel better by acting superior. This attitude can be seen in gaining control in personal relationships and competing with others to achieve a higher status. Their success and needs are the primary focus of life. They are also over-conscious about their appearance. This dominance can be seen in many places, for example, the workplace. They may use this superiority to influence the decision in their interest. Moreover, they are less likely to give credit to others. While in social interactions also, they try to be the center of attraction and the first ones to speak and criticize. These individuals also brag about their success and achievements only. All these traits make them as someone who is very self-centered.