The superiority complex is the reverse side of the inferiority complex, in which a person constantly feels self-doubt and tries to achieve superiority in everything. Many people who have problems with self-esteem often believe that this will not affect them - although in reality they strive to gain power over others and constantly convince themselves that they can demand attention from them. With the help of our checklist, you can understand whether your superiority over others is just an illusion of the psyche.
Constantly comparing yourself to others
Since a person with a superiority complex’s sense of self is tied to others, such people constantly compare themselves to others. In this comparison, the brain does not play in their favor: it says that they are not good enough. If you also can't go a day without comparing your successes to others, this may indicate a deeper problem than it seems.
From opposition to integration
Creativity is fueled by abundance, not exclusion.
The Improv Comedy show takes a “Yes, and...” approach. It teaches people to constantly build on new ideas, rather than replace or fight old ones. Improvisation is about integration; ideas are stepping stones, not alternative paths.
The “Yes, and...” mindset turns everyone into a participant. As Kelly Leonard, executive director of the comedy group Second City, says: “Everyone in the ensemble generates hundreds of ideas, and although most ideas die and are never revived, people are not afraid that they will end up with nothing to offer.”
Integration is based on each other's ideas - we unlock the potential of each idea instead of judging the person who proposed it.
“When we are truly engaged and listen to the other side, disagreements tend to be more constructive,” says Tenell Porter, a psychology researcher at the University of California.
In his book Dream Teams, journalist Shane Snow explains that while great teams are more than the sum of their parts, (lack of) collaboration often fails to deliver on that promise.
He advocates three ways of integrating contrarian thinking:
1. Cognitive Diversity: One of the reasons diversity fails is because we focus on demographics rather than mindsets. Instead of looking for people who are a cultural fit, we should hire those who promote cultural fitness—they should challenge the team to step outside of their own comfort zone.
2. Cognitive friction: We often view conflict as a rift—the tension can help if we put moral superiority aside. Healthy friction can bring out the best in a team.
3. Intellectual Humility: Most leaders operate from a position of moral superiority—they believe that their opinion is more important than that of their team. Wise leaders are not only humble, but also embrace their vulnerability. They don't want to win every argument.
Intellectual humility involves recognizing that our beliefs or opinions may be wrong. In an age of division, anger brings people together. Everyone adopts a “win at all costs” mentality to prove others wrong or deceitful.
Mark Leary, a professor of psychology at Duke University, believes that "intellectual humility is essential to protecting us from self-destructive tendencies." No matter which viewpoint you lean most toward, intellectual humility can help you find common ground, build better relationships, and become more effective leaders.
Difficulty admitting mistakes
Those who feel superior to others cannot take full responsibility for what is happening, since this contradicts their sense of self. When you are unhappy with who you really are, you can hide behind an “ideal” version of yourself that others can theoretically like. Admitting your mistakes means admitting that you are not ideal, and in the case of a superiority complex, it also means destroying illusions.
The Power of Intellectual Honesty
To “find” the truth, we must see things as they really are, and not filter them to please ourselves.
As Perry Tam writes: “What is intellectual honesty? This means always seeking the truth, whether it agrees with your personal beliefs or not.”
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Intellectual honesty is about finding the best solution, not winning an argument.
Moral superiority promotes groupthink—we only pay attention to those who think like us. Diversity of thinking is necessary to help groups find the best solutions. However, even in the most “objective” organizations, leaders use moral superiority to silence their “subordinates.”
Start by leveling the playing field.
This requires creating a fearless culture where people can:
- express your opinion without fear;
- express alternative points of view;
- challenge the status quo or bosses;
- admit mistakes without fear of punishment.
This requires leaders to embrace vulnerability. From my experience I know that this is easier said than done. It takes time to teach senior leaders to let go of power and the need to always be right. As Tam explains, decisions should be “based on facts, not on the status or position of the person within the company representing them.”
Intellectually humble adults are more likely to learn from people with whom they disagree. We must go beyond right and wrong by integrating opposing ideas rather than excluding them.
The mood is constantly changing
Because a person with a superiority complex constantly struggles with their conflicting personalities, they often experience severe mood swings. Sometimes such people feel too depressed and this changes their behavior - so much so that it is difficult to predict their next action.
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Prevention of "delusions of grandeur"
The disappearance of ideas of delusions of grandeur directly depends on the results of treatment of the underlying disease: if therapy for the original pathology leads to remission, then ideas of delusions of grandeur disappear along with its other symptoms. It is important to note that the risk of relapse is very high, therefore, to prevent the recurrence of delusions of grandeur, regular medical monitoring of the patient’s condition is necessary.
There are no specific methods for preventing delusions of grandeur, since the causes of its occurrence lie in mental disorders of various origins. However, it is possible to minimize the risk of both primary and recurrent occurrence of delusions of grandeur if:
- promptly diagnose mental illnesses and psychotic conditions with organic lesions of the central nervous system;
- monitor your general health;
- learn to cope with stress correctly and avoid stressful situations;
- stop taking alcohol and drugs.
Our online program “Psychoregulation” will definitely help you learn to manage your mental and emotional states, and in the online program “Human Health” you will learn how to keep your body in good shape, as well as timely monitor and eliminate problems that arise in various systems of the body, which will allow you can prevent the occurrence of mild abnormalities and minimize the risk of developing more serious diseases of any origin.
We wish you good luck and sincerely believe that you will certainly be able to take care of your health correctly!
And if you wish, you can take a short test to find out how well you managed to understand and remember the material in the article:
We also recommend reading:
- Storytelling
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- Forms of social behavior of people
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- How to Become an Idea Generating Machine: A Guide
- Stendhal syndrome
- Psychology: pseudoscience or not?
- Empathy in simple words: what is it and why is it needed?
- “Persecution mania”: symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment
- Scientific thinking: meaning, features and methods
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Key words: 1Healthy lifestyle, 1Psychoregulation
Waiting for confirmation
A person with a superiority complex constantly waits for approval and confirmation of what is happening from external sources. He feels good only when his actions are noticed by others, and this looks like a constant search for resources that could fill the emptiness inside. Unfortunately, just one compliment will not be able to support such a person for long, and he will soon again not be satisfied with himself.
Treatment of "delusions of grandeur"
Manic delirium cannot be corrected; to get rid of it, it is necessary to treat the underlying disease that caused it.
The nature of the occurrence of diseases, the consequence of which is “delusions of grandeur”, treatment of this deviation is reduced mainly to drug therapy: long-acting neuroleptics, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants and lithium-containing drugs are used for this.
However, treatment of any mental illness should be comprehensive and include not only pharmacotherapy, but also psychotherapy that helps the person return to normal life: it is recommended to use cognitive-behavioral and family psychotherapy.
For mild forms of the disease, outpatient observation is carried out; for moderate forms, a daytime visit to a psychoneurological dispensary is carried out; in severe cases, hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital is necessary.
Content
- Striving for superiority and feelings of inferiority
- Sense of Community
- Compensation and overcompensation
- The connection between birth order and human personality
- What are the differences between A. Adler’s theory and S. Freud’s theory?
Alfred Adler (1870-1937) - Austrian psychologist, psychiatrist, one of the predecessors of neo-Freudianism, founder of individual psychology. At first he joined the supporters of Z. Freud, then he founded his own school.
According to Adler, human behavior is determined primarily not by biological, but by social factors. He introduced the concept of social interest. Social interest is an innate potential aimed at cooperation with other people and at achieving personal and social goals. Such interest develops in childhood, as experience accumulates.
Courage and timidity
There is a type of child to whom they strive to yield in everything. Such a child is usually the center of attention of the family: everyone wants to take care of him, cheer him up or warn him. Throughout his life, someone must support him, which is quite burdensome for those around him. However, this is his goal of superiority - he shows a desire to suppress others in his own way. As we have already shown, such a goal of superiority is the result of an inferiority complex. If he had not doubted his own abilities, he would not have chosen such an easy path to success.
An example can serve as an illustration of one seventeen-year-old boy. Our hero was the eldest in the family, and we had already had the opportunity to observe how the first-born usually experiences the tragedy of being overthrown from his place in the center of attention of the family by a younger child. A similar fate befell our young man; he was extremely depressed, irritated and did nothing for a long time
Some time later, he attempted suicide, after which he saw a therapist and explained that before his suicide attempt, he dreamed that he shot his father. Notice that this depressed, inactive and inert man always had the possibility of action - constantly present in his mind
In this regard, it is worth mentioning the type of children who seem lethargic at school and those lethargic adults who seem absolutely incapable of anything. Often their apathy is superficial and in the depths there is danger. All we need is a push - and we have a suicide attempt or some other neurotic act or illness. Finding out the attitude of such people is often a very difficult task.
Childhood shyness is another trait that is fraught with danger. It is necessary to treat shyness very carefully, and this must be done without fail, otherwise it can destroy your entire life. A shy child will have many difficulties until his shyness is overcome, since in our culture only the brave and assertive achieve high results and advantages in life. If a brave person fails, it does not traumatize him as much as a shy one. who has a tendency, at the sight of approaching difficulties, to shy away from life, preferring a useless pastime to it.
Growing up, such children most often become neurotic or even suffer from mental disorders.
Such people constantly walk around as if submerged in water, and cannot really speak to others; often they simply do not make contact and avoid people altogether.
The characteristics we have described represent mental attitudes. They are not innate and are not inherited: they are simply reactions to a situation. In this way, the lifestyle responds to the perception of the problem facing the individual. Of course, this is not always the logical answer expected by a philosopher: it is an answer that childhood experiences and mistakes taught us to give.
In children or individuals with mental disabilities, it is easier to observe the functioning of these attitudes, as well as the path of their formation, than in normal adults. As we have seen, the prototype stage is clearer and less complicated than the later lifestyle. In fact, one can compare the functioning of the prototype to an unripe fruit, which readily assimilates everything it receives: fertilizer, water, food, air. During the ripening process, all these components are absorbed by it. The difference between prototype and lifestyle is like the difference between unripe and ripe fruit. It is much easier to uncover and explore the unripe fruit stage in man, but what is revealed is largely true of the ripe fruit stage.
We can observe, for example, how a child who is fearful from the beginning of life manifests his cowardice in all life attitudes. It seems that a cowardly child and an aggressive child are very different. A pugnacious child always has a certain degree of courage, which is the natural product of what we call "common sense." However, in certain situations, even a very cowardly child can look like a hero. This always happens when he strives to become first in any way. An example of this is the case of a boy who could not swim. He went swimming with friends, but finding himself in a deep place and not knowing how to swim, he almost drowned. Of course, there was no true courage in his action, and all his behavior was useless. He did this out of a desire to be admired; for this reason, he ignored the danger he found himself in, hoping that others would save him.
Manuel Smith formulated the rules of assertive behavior in the book “Self-Confidence Training”
1. I have the right to evaluate my own behavior, thoughts and emotions and be responsible for their consequences.
Manipulative bias: I should not judge myself and my behavior unceremoniously and independently of others. In fact, in all cases, it is not me who should evaluate and discuss my personality, but someone more sophisticated and authoritative.
2. I have the right not to apologize or explain my behavior.
Manipulative bias: I am responsible for my behavior to other people, it is desirable that I report to them and explain everything that I do, apologize to them for my actions.
3. I have the right to independently consider whether I am at all, or to some extent, responsible for solving other people's problems.
Manipulative Bias: I have more obligations to certain institutions and people than to myself. It is advisable to sacrifice my own dignity and adapt.
4. I have the right to change my mind.
Manipulative bias: If I have already expressed a certain point of view, there is no need to ever change it. I would have to apologize or admit that I was wrong. This would mean that I am not competent and unable to decide.
5. I have the right to make mistakes and be responsible for my mistakes.
Manipulative Bias: I'm not supposed to make mistakes, and if I make any mistakes, I'm supposed to feel guilty. It is desirable that I and my decisions be controlled.
6. I have the right to say: “I don’t know”
Manipulative Bias: I wish I could answer any question.
7. I have the right to be independent of the goodwill of others and their good attitude towards me
Manipulative bias: I want people to treat me well, to love me, I need them.
8. I have the right to make illogical decisions.
Manipulative Bias: It is desirable that I maintain logic, reason, rationality and validity in everything I do. Only that which is logical is reasonable.
9. I have the right to say: “I don’t understand you”
Manipulative Bias: I must be attentive and sensitive to the needs of others, I must “read their minds.” If I don't do this, I'm a ruthless ignorant and no one will love me.
10. I have the right to say: “I’m not interested in this”
Manipulative Bias: I must try to be attentive and emotional to everything that happens in the world. I probably won't succeed, but I have to try my best to achieve it. Otherwise, I am callous and indifferent.
There are various trainings on developing assertive behavior, for example, among sellers. At the exit, the seller will learn what assertive behavior is, will be able to develop a personal attitude towards assertive behavior, will be aware of his rights and responsibilities in the context of assertiveness, will learn to accept criticism and defend his own position without being led by the client.
But such corporate training has risks, and these risks are associated with management’s willingness to work with employees practicing assertive behavior and with the level of development of their company’s corporate culture.
Imagine that same salesman comes to his superiors and assertively says: “Dear Vladimir Ivanovich, after the training I realized that I am not satisfied with your management methods, I don’t want to correct your mistakes anymore, and if you want to continue our communication in a positive way key, I suggest that you first consider increasing my salary.” published by econet.ru.
Sergey Lazarev
PS And remember, just by changing your consciousness, we are changing the world together! econet
