A sophomania is the mania of pretending to be wise It is a mania in which a person has a compulsive need to appear to be wise about things, when in fact he has no technical knowledge about the subject he is trying to show he knows.

In general, people with this condition are insecure and will not admit to showing this weakness. They are people who are afraid of being considered ignorant or incompetent, and as a result develop obsessive behavior to appear wise.

What are manias?

Mania is an unusual, repetitive and extravagant habit, style or interest The word Mania is often used to describe an extreme habit, addiction, or compulsion that belongs to a specific person. For example: "He has a mania for biting his nails.

Furthermore, mania can also be considered a psychological disorder that creates an exaggerated state of temper that is responsible, for example, for triggering a series of irrational impulses.

It is worth pointing out that manias are not always considered to be characteristics of mental disorders. They are only considered so if they become disruptive to some aspect of the person's life. In general, maniacs have characteristic behaviors, such as, for example:

• increase in euphoria;
• high irritability;
• hyperactivity;
• Exaggerated self-esteem and self-confidence.

What is sophomania?

In short, sophomania is the mania in which a person wants to pretending to be wise, with obsessive behavior to demonstrate that he has more wisdom than anyone else, with knowledge beyond the real thing.

In other words, sophomania involves a person's compulsion to appear intelligent, when, in fact, they are extremely ignorant. That is, they have no knowledge about the subject they are discussing, not accepting to be contradicted even by those who have expertise in the matter.

In this way, sophomaniacs act as authorities on most of the subjects they get involved in, without having done any kind of research, basing it solely on their intuitions, observations and personal experiences. For them, the reasoning is that if it has not been seen by them, it does not exist.

Thus, those who have this mania think that their personal observations and experiences have more validity than studies and research, produced by professionals in the field. In this sense, even if they are shown solid evidence that goes against their position, they do not accept it, they remain unyielding.

Concept of sophomania

The word comes from the Greek sophos More manic, which is characterized by an exaggerated and compulsive mania for trying to be wise without having any knowledge about it.

In this sense, the sophomania can be characterized by a type of mental disorder, which, in general, are characteristic of people who have an inferiority complex and, showing a false knowledge, seek social approval.

In other words, this impulsive need to be wise is often motivated by feelings of insecurity or inadequacy. As a result, feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem, or fear of being judged by others can arise.

Thus, sophomores tend to feel more secure when they are in the midst of other people, developing obsessive behaviors to appear smarter than they really are.

Difference between sophomania and Dunning-Krueger Effect?

In short, the Dunning-Krueger effect is the name given to the study by researchers David Dunning and Justin Kruger, about a cognitive bias, under which it influences people's behavior. A person makes others believe that he or she is knowledgeable about something, when, in fact, they are not.

Although similar, sophomania has subtle differences. In the case of the Dunning-Krueger effect the person had access, however slight In other words, she may have done a little reading on a subject and created an illusion in her mind that she can position herself as an authority on the subject.

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Whereas in the case of sophomania, the person has not even accessed any kind of research on the subject. He relies solely on his individual perceptions on the subject, and even if you show him studies to the contrary, he never accepts to be contradicted.

Possible causes of sophomania

As said before, among the main causes for the development of sophomania are insecurity and low self-esteem Because the person tends to develop an association between what he thinks and what he is, he acts in any way he can to demonstrate this to the other. After all, anything that contradicts this understanding of himself is seen by him as a rejection.

Therefore, those with sophomania will go to any lengths to impose their position on the matter, to the point of winning the other over by exhaustion, since, for them, the important thing is not to be contradicted and to suffer rejection.

Examples of sophomania

In summary, the person who has sophomania tends to exaggerating in your talk about a subject, acting as if you were an expert She often overestimates her abilities, even lying, just to be able to impress others and feel superior.

We can also highlight as examples of sophomoric people those who use complex terms to appear to be an expert on the subject, when, in fact, they are just irrelevant expressions, which do not demonstrate any knowledge at all, and worse, sometimes even the person does not know the real meaning of the terms used.

Another typical example of people with sophomania are those who carefully examine a document, under which technical knowledge is required for analysis. They act like this just to show themselves to be more intelligent or competent.

Is there treatment for sophomania?

In advance, you should know that you will hardly be able to change the behavior of a person with sophomania, since this must come from him or her alone, especially since, given his or her unrepentant nature, he or she will hardly accept any advice for treatment.

Thus, it is up to the affected person to become aware that he is ill and needs treatment for his mental health Otherwise, your condition may escalate into more severe mental disorders.

In this sense, the most suitable treatment for those with sophomania is therapeutic. Through therapy sessions the specialized professional will help the person to develop self-knowledge, thus finding the causes and the cure for their manic behaviors.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that if this disorder is properly treated, it can damage relationships, cause problems in the work environment, and even affect mental health. Therefore, it is essential to seek professional help to deal with this disorder and learn to better adapt in social relationships.

Learn how the human mind works

However, if you have reached the end of this article about sophomania In this way, we invite you to get to know our Psychoanalysis Training Course, 100% distance learning. The main benefits of this study are

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• Enhancing Self-Knowledge: The experience of psychoanalysis is able to provide the student and patient/client with insights into themselves that would be virtually impossible to obtain on their own.
• Improves interpersonal relationships: Understanding how the mind works can lead to better relationships with family and work members. The course is a tool that helps the student to understand other people's thoughts, feelings, emotions, pains, desires, and motivations.

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