Even when all of us hate people who show off, it is still so prevalent in the society that psychologists have been researching the cause of this practice for decades. Showing-off is never liked by the receptors, but sometimes the person who is bragging or showing off has no control over his/her actions. Psychological factors can contribute to the tendency to show off, let us explore some of these factors:
1. Insecurity
The most common reason behind a person showing off any positive attributes he/she may possess is underlying insecurity. When people tend to believe they aren’t important in the lives of others, they try to make themselves important in the eyes of others. This behavior comes from a place of lack of self-worth which leads to insecurity in relationships. It’s simple, one who is insecure about himself tries to seek validation from others.
2. Acceptance
Not everyone can feel like they belong in every social group, under circumstances where people tend to feel alienated, they choose to brag. Bragging in this situation helps them feel accepted and a part of the social group they are exposed to. This behavior amplifies once it is proven successful, for example, a kid who made friends in school by showing off his stuff is likely to do the same in the future, as he is sure that this will bring him/her the favorable results.
3. Childhood experiences
‘Our childhood experiences shape many of our adult behaviors’ – this is the entire premise of the psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud. And what is an article on psychology without some Freudian input? If a child is showered with a lot of attention from his/her parents during his childhood, then he may try to maintain that attention level as an adult even if that means stooping to showing off. This reason can also be backed by classical conditioning, as a child who is conditioned to receive good feedback tend to get used to the same to display any positive behavior.
4. Coping Mechanism
Bragging or showing off can also be a coping mechanism from an underlying mental disorder or external stress. People tend to cope with bad circumstances in different ways and one such way could be focusing on the positives, that too to an extent that they can’t stop talking about it. This is the same reason why most of the mean and popular girls in movies have an emotionally or physically abusive family background.
Do you hate people who show-off a little less now? But some might even do have a tendency to show off to make others feel inferior. But that is only a few of the lot, so just be aware of those kinds and try to help others, maybe?