Egocentricity
Origin
Late 19th or early 20th Century
Definitions
- 1: concerned with the individual rather than society
- 2: taking the ego as the starting point in philosophy
- 3a : limited in outlook or concern to one's own activities or needs
Description
Egocentrism was derived from Jean Piaget's 1951 theory of cognitive development. Egocentrism refers to an inability to differentiate between self and other.
An individual who is egocentric would meet the necessary and sufficient criteria of:
- The individual is always under the assumption that all actions and events revolve around their existence.
- The individual fails to acknowledge any perspectives other than their own.
An individual who meets only criteria 1 is identified as an narcissist. Although egocentrism and narcissism appear similar, they are not the same. A person who is egocentric believes they are the center of attention, like a narcissist, but does not receive gratification by one's own admiration. A narcissist is a person whose ego is greatly influenced by the approval of others while an egotist does not care for opinions of others. An individual who meets only criteria 2 is labeled as absolutistic. Similarly, egocentrism and absolutism appear to be the same but are not. An egotist is similar to an absolutist, in that both believe their opinion to be the greatest. They differ in the sense that an egotist's opinion must always allow everything to center around themselves, while an absolutist can form an opinion that does not center themselves, yet believes their idea and opinion is non contest. Egocentricism most commonly appears in early stages of childhood. As a child grows older the manifestation of the egocentric traits either become more subtle or carry on to adulthood. The manifestation of egocentrism in adulthood can be similar or exact to that of childhood but less overlooked because of social constructs, dogmas, and norms.
