Such a person might be called derisive or scornful. But people who are, or who think they are, more talented or knowledgeable than you in some area where you would like to excel might be called condescending or superior or patronising. Putting people down comes in many different flavours.
There are a variety of causes for this type of behavior. Many factors make people put others down. Psychology says trauma from childhood, low self-esteem, and insecurity are a few major causes. If you want to understand relationships with people who put others down, psychology can help explain the complexity to you.
Use Humor. Try deflecting belittling behavior with humor. Respond with humor or exaggerate the belittling comment and make a joke out of it. Doing this could help someone to realize the outrageousness of what they have said if it is not based on solid facts or evidence.
Some people do it because they are insecure or jealous. They are trying to feel better about themselves by putting you down. Some do it because they are trying to impress someone or get attention. For example, the coworker that criticizes your work in front of the supervisor.
People with NPD may be intentionally arrogant, superior or vain. They will often act in a pretentious way in group settings, belittle others, and look to control conversations. While their self-concept is often an overinflated one, people with NPD typically have a fragile ego.
Emotional and psychological abuse can take many forms, including belittling, which can manifest as judging, humiliating, criticizing, trivializing or telling hurtful jokes. But belittling is no joking matter. It's a tactic often used by abusers to make their victims feel small, unimportant or disrespected.
Emotional and psychological abuse can take many forms, including belittling, which can manifest as judging, humiliating, criticizing, trivializing or telling hurtful jokes.
Jealousy and low self-esteem are main reasons for this type of behavior. Some people will portray others as a joke to make themselves appear more funny when in reality it just comes across as a cheap shot.
to make them feel better about themselves because they feel insecure… because we forget their value perspective because it's easier to think that we're right and they're wrong… probably because like people feel like they're more superior to other people…
To belittle means to put down, or to make another person feel as though they aren't important. Saying mean things about another person literally makes them feel "little." To belittle someone is a cruel way of making someone else seem less important than yourself.
Demeaning behavior is that which is intended to cause a severe loss in the dignity and respect of someone; words or actions intended to debase, lower, degrade, discredit or devalue a person.
They turn the story around to make it seem like you are at fault, deflecting attention and blame away from them to make you feel guilty. This type of emotional manipulation is called gaslighting.
Examples include intimidation, coercion, ridiculing, harassment, treating an adult like a child, isolating an adult from family, friends, or regular activity, use of silence to control behavior, and yelling or swearing which results in mental distress. Signs of emotional abuse.
Narcissists also gaslight or practice master manipulation, weakening and destabilizing their victims; finally, they utilize positive and negative emotions or moments to trick others. When a narcissist can't control you, they'll likely feel threatened, react with anger, and they might even start threatening you.
The narcissist tries to ignore it, talk it out of existence, or belittle its importance. If this crude mechanism of cognitive dissonance fails, the narcissist resorts to denial and repression of the humiliating material. He "forgets" all about it, gets it out of his mind and, when reminded of it, denies it.
1. The toxic narcissist. There's a range of toxic narcissism, and none of it is good. A toxic narcissist “continually causes drama in others' lives at the very least and causes pain and destruction at the very worst,” says clinical psychologist John Mayer, PhD.
"Many times people who are not particularly fond of you have a hard time making eye contact," Craig said. "These individuals often seem distracted or disconnected while speaking and engaging with you. Their eyes may shift to other things happening around you which indicates a lack of respect and attention."