The Egocentric Bias: Why It's Hard to See Things from a Different Perspective

It occurs primarily due to the fact that we tend to naturally examine and remember events primarily through our personal point of view.

Even when we realize that we should adjust our perspective to see things through other people’s eyes, we tend to anchor this new perspective to our own, and we often fail to adjust from our original viewpoint enough to properly assess how other people feel.

... on the likelihood that a person will experience the egocentric bias:

• Age: it appears that adolescents and older adults display increased egocentricity compared to young and middle-aged adults.
• The number the languages spoken: bilinguals appear to be less likely to experience the egocentric bias than monolinguals.

• Use self-distancing language: for e.g,  instead of thinking “what should I do”, think “what should you do”/“what should [your name] do”.
• Try to see things from someone else’s viewpoint, or you can try to see things from a generalized external perspective.
• Become aware of your innate tendency to focus on yourself.