What is the Difference Between Conceited and Narcissistic

The main difference between conceited and narcissistic is that being conceited involves excessive pride and overconfidence, whereas being narcissistic involves extreme self-centeredness and an inflated sense of self-importance.

Conceit and narcissism are two related qualities. In fact, conceit is a feature of a narcissistic person, but not all conceited people are narcissistic.

Key Areas Covered

1. What Does Conceited Mean
     – Definition, Features, Traits
2. What Does Narcissistic Mean
     – Definition, Features, Traits
3. Difference Between Conceited and Narcissistic
    – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Conceited, Narcissistic

What Does Conceited Mean

Conceited describes the quality of extreme or excessive pride or overconfidence. This is often characterized by arrogance and vanity. Conceited is the opposite of modest. The first recorded use of the word conceited can be traced back to 1600. Conceited is actually the shortened form of self-conceited.

Traits of a Conceited Person

• Conceited people believe that they are always right.
• Such people always want to be the center of attention.
• They might get upset over little things.
• In addition, they are vain and arrogant.

A conceited person has an exaggerated self-image and sees himself/herself as extremely intelligent, skilful, entertaining, and attractive. He or she will also talk incessantly about his/her accomplishments. Conceited people also overestimate their abilities and merits. They assume that other people think highly of them because they are superior. In other words, they need to be admired by others.

What Does Narcissistic Mean

Narcissism is the quality of being extremely self-centred and having an inflated sense of self-importance. In fact, narcissism has been long identified as a personality disorder. Moreover, people with narcissistic personality disorder usually have a distorted and inflated image of themselves. They think that they are superior to others and thus treat others accordingly. Psychologists have theorized that this grandiose image of themselves is due to deep-seated feelings of insecurity. Narcissistic people also have an excessive need for attention and admiration. However, conceited is not the same as narcissistic. Moreover, a person can be conceited without being narcissistic.

Some Traits of Narcissistic People

• An exaggerated sense of self-importance
• Lack of empathy – inability to recognize the feelings or needs of others
• Extreme jealousy and hyper-sensitivity
• Preoccupation with fantasies about beauty, success, power and brilliance
• Arrogant or haughty behaviour
• Need for constant attention and excessive admiration
• A tendency to lash out in the face of criticism or lack of attention

Narcissistic people are resistant to change their behaviour and attitudes, even though they cause a lot of problems. However, narcissists usually blame these problems on others. Also, they react badly to even the slightest criticism or disagreement and take them as personal criticize. Due to all these negative traits, these people find it difficult to maintain healthy relationships with others.

Difference Between Conceited and Narcissistic

Definition

Conceited describes the quality of extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence while narcissistic is the quality of being extremely self-centred and having an inflated sense of self-importance.

Features

Being conceited involves excessive pride and overconfidence whereas being narcissistic involves extreme self-centeredness and an inflated sense of self-importance.

Interrelationship

A person can be conceited without being narcissistic, but conceit is a feature of narcissism.

Conclusion

In brief, conceit and narcissism are two related qualities. In fact, conceit is a feature of a narcissistic person, but not all conceited people are narcissistic. The main difference between conceited and narcissistic is that being conceited involves excessive pride and overconfidence, whereas being narcissistic involves extreme self-centeredness and an inflated sense of self-importance. 

Reference:

1. “Conceited People: Traits and Behaviors.” Exploring Your Mind, 6 Aug. 2020.
2. Bain, Lisa. “8 Major Warning Signs You’re Dealing With a Narcissist.” Good Housekeeping, 15 Aug. 2019.
3. “Narcissistic Personality Disorder.” HelpGuide.org, 6 Dec. 2019.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Mirror-woman-silhouette-looking” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “Word Cloud NPD” By MissLunaRose12 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia

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