Cynical people: their 7 typical characteristics and traits

There are people who can easily lie blatantly without feeling bad about it.

Living in society implies being constantly pressured by a series of rules, both written and unwritten, which in theory help us to coexist without major friction between us. We are all affected by them, but not all of us have the same tendency to accept them and make our actions fit in with them.

What we usually know as cynical people is an example of this.. These are individuals who are characterized by, among other things, having no qualms about showing quite openly that they do not conform to the rules that are important to most people. They are often accused of acting brazenly, and this means that in an instant they can become the enemy of many.

Although cynicism is a learned pattern of behaviorIt is usually expressed in a fairly consistent manner over time, unless specific life experiences or the simple maturation of the person change this. Next we will see which are the typical characteristics that define it.

Characteristics of cynical people

These are the characteristics that show a tendency to cynicism in a person. They are not ordered according to a certain criterion, nor must they all necessarily be present at the same time. On the other hand, keep in mind that in everything there are different levels of intensity, and it is very difficult to find people who carry all these characteristics to the purest extreme of what is cynicism.

1. Tendency to use basic fallacies

Cynical people have no qualms about using traps in their way of arguing, as they sometimes try to persuade others by taking advantage of our propensity to think through cognitive shortcuts.Sometimes they try to persuade others by taking advantage of our propensity to think through cognitive shortcuts, even if this means making us reach a false conclusion.

Thus, they make fallacious comparisons, criticize the person instead of the argument, appeal to the opinion of a supposed authority on the subject without showing why he or she is right, etc. Normally, the fact that many fallacies may appear in the same discussion means that many of them are immediately detected as such, but cynical people do not usually care about this.

2. Tendency to egocentrism

Another of the most important characteristics of cynical people is that they live almost entirely oriented towards themselves, and for that reason they do not feel particularly bad when they think that others may have a bad opinion of them.. In addition, another consequence of this egocentrism is that situations easily arise in which they harm someone voluntarily or involuntarily, to get something that only they will enjoy.

3. Ease in pretending

Cynical people are not simply individuals who do not conform to social conventions; Nor do they conform to a morality in which honesty is of value.. For this reason, they have no trouble pretending to care about others and, when it is in their interest, completely break this illusion to act as they really feel and think, with virtually no shame.

4. Pessimistic outlook on society

Normally, cynical people do not expect much from society as a whole. In any case, you can see it as a sum of individuals who agree not to harm each other for a period of time, just not to be harmed. This is an individualistic individualistic way of conceiving social relations..

5. They are distrustful

Having a rather negative view of life, cynical people do not feel compelled to gain the sympathy of others except for specific reasons related to specific advantages.

6. They can say what they think, without shame

They often do not do so for a practical purpose, but where doing so has no clear negative consequences, cynical people can be very transparent, which means that without not saying something that would be relevant to a conversation, it is more likely not to be out of fear of what people will say or out of embarrassment.which are rather irrational elements. This can be good or bad, depending on the case and the sensitivity of the listener or reader.

7. They lie easily

As there is no moral "ceiling" for this, lying is considered just another tool in a world where everyone is looking out for his or her own. Consequently, cynical people are more likely to lie to achieve their goals.