People with inflated self-esteem: 8 traits and characteristics

How does excessive self-esteem manifest itself in people? Let's take a look at some of its characteristics.

Self-esteem is a determining factor for people to overcome the various adversities they face throughout their lives. A well-established self-esteem will prevent the subject from having a poor perception of him/herself and allowing problems to overcome him/her.

Although this is a positive circumstance, there are people with greatly inflated self-esteem who harm themselves who harm themselves due to the exaggerated perception they have of themselves. In this article we will see which are the characteristic features of these people with an excess of self-esteem and ideas of grandiosity linked to their self-concept.

What is self-esteem?

Self-esteem can be defined as the appreciation or consideration that a person has of him/herself, and is a characteristic associated with the personality that begins to be established in childhood, although it may vary throughout life (especially depending on the social reference groups with which the individual compares him/herself). Its development will depend in part on the styles of upbringing that the child receives from parents or caregivers, and also on the person's expectations regarding his or her life projects.

People with too much self-esteem were usually subjected to dysfunctional parenting styles, suffering from this circumstance in their lives.They suffer from this circumstance in the following stages of evolutionary development. For example, when we have parents who are too permissive and complacent, the tendency can lead us to develop an excess of self-esteem, believing that we have the power to make other people obey us.

If, on the other hand, we have parents who restrict the children's own initiative, the tendency is towards low self-esteem, which, in turn, will end up damaging various aspects of their lives (personal, family, academic, work).

How does excessive self-esteem affect them?

The exacerbated self-esteem usually brings a series of negative consequences for the subject, but usually the subject does not realize that this is so. It is the same excess of self-esteem that prevents the person from seeing that he/she is making mistakes and that he/she should correct certain aspects of his/her self-esteem. and that he/she must correct certain aspects of his/her life.

In cases where there is an overly enlarged self-image, it is difficult for the subject to relate adequately with his peer group, no matter where he is. There will always be a social limitation, among other things because criticism is not well tolerated.

Another way in which people are affected by excessive self-esteem is the low capacity for self-reflection that people with inflated self-esteem have; it is very difficult for them to reach an honest understanding of who they are and what their true capabilities are.

They are constantly engrossed in a bubble of perfection about themselves; even when they are wrong, they are reluctant to accept it.They prefer to engage in a sterile argument rather than give in.

Now let's look at some more specific ways in which excessive self-esteem affects people:

• Limits their capacity for analysis.
• It affects their interpersonal relationships.
• It favors submitting to exaggerated self-demands.
• Generates unrealistic expectations.
• It leads to frustration.
• Generates a tendency to isolation.

People with inflated self-esteem: characteristics

In the following list we will review what are the main characteristics of people with over-inflated self-esteem.

1. They believe they can do everything

People with over-inflated self-esteem have the idea that they are capable of meeting any challenge that comes their way, regardless of whether it is true or not. It is a haughty attitude where the necessary preparation to perform the activities is not taken into account..

2. They believe that they are never wrong

Another of the main characteristics of these subjects is that they think they are always absolutely right about everything they discuss, and do not see it as a possibility that they might be wrong at some point.and do not see it as a possibility to be wrong at some point. This is associated with a high level of frustration when confronted with situations in which their own imperfections in decision making become evident; the cognitive dissonance they must face in such cases is very high.

3. They do not foresee the risks

When there is an excess of self-esteem, there is also an inability to detect possible risks. This is because the person thinks that nothing can significantly affect him/her and that there is a solution for everything, when in reality the only thing he/she is doing is exposing himself to unnecessary risks.

4. They have the feeling of being very much loved

This irrational sensation is due to the fact that subjects with an exaggerated self-esteem tend to extrapolate the perception that they have of themselves to the rest of the people.They are not a "people" in the sense that they think that everyone else sees them as they see themselves.

5. They tend to talk too much

When we meet people with excessive self-esteem, we can notice their tendency to talk a lot and they are not very willing to allow others to participate in the conversation. There is a tendency to egocentrism.

6. They do not take into account the capabilities of others

The subject with too much self-esteem will hardly work in a group voluntarily, since he/she thinks that no one is up to his/her level to form a team with him/her. to form a team at his side. These people prefer to work alone, regardless of the amount of work involved.

7. They like to be praised

People with inflated self-esteem will always show weakness for those who praise them. When they meet a person who enjoys their stories and their boasts (at least for a while) they feel their ego is satisfied, and this is evident in their body expressions.

8. They always want the best

They always want the best, the most elegant and usually the most expensive things, to be able to show them off and enjoy when others notice their presence thanks to the accessories they use. thanks to the accessories they use.

Bibliographical references:

• Bermúdez, J. (2004). Personality psychology. Theory and research. (Vol I and II). Didactic Unit of the UNED. Madrid.
• Egan, S.J.; Piek, J.P.; Dyck, M.J.; Rees, C.S. (2007). The role of dichotomous thinking and rigidity in perfectionism. Behaviour research and therapy. Elsevier.
• Horton, R. S.; Bleau, G.; Drwecki, B. (2006). Parenting Narcissus: What Are the Links Between Parenting and Narcissism? Journal of Personality. 74 (2): 345 - 376.
• Marsh, H.W. (1990). Causal ordering of academic self-concept and academic achievement: A multiwave, longitudinal path analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82 (4): 646 - 656.