Egocentrism is defined by having or regarding the self or the individual as the centre of all things. In a sense one has little or no regard for interest, beliefs, or attitudes other than one’s own. One is then self-centred, an egocentric person; puts egocentric demands upon time and has no patience for others.

A historically classic example of egocentrism was the commonly accepted belief that the Earth was the centre of the universe, around which everything else revolved. Many academicians faced scorn, ridicule, and worse for daring to suggest otherwise until the sheer weight of demonstrable science finally swayed the educated, and eventually the masses.

Egocentrism is part of human development and according to Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, egocentrism is the tendency of children to cognize their environment only in terms of their own point of view. This is known as the pre-operational stage of development from birth to two years. Egocentrism is also a part of adolescence development in that teenagers often find it hard to judge situations based on the perspective of others. As humans develop through every developmental stage, the child and the adolescent go on to develop ‘theory of mind’ in order to become more tolerant towards other perspectives even when you hold a different opinion.

Ethnocentrism on the other hand is a sociological term that defines the belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture. This can be described as the tendency to view alien groups or cultures from the perspective of one’s own ideologies. One has to note that being ethnocentric does not automatically imply that a group or an individual is egocentric, though that can be the case.

This practice is a major reason for divisions amongst members of different ethnicities, races, and religious groups in society. Ethnocentric individuals believe that they are better than other individuals for reasons based solely on their heritage. Clearly, this practice is related to problems of both racism and prejudice. While many people may recognize the problems, they may not realize that ethnocentrism occurs everywhere and every day at both the local and political levels. The term ethnocentrism was coined by Wilhelm Graham Sumner in the early twentieth century. More inofrmation about the historical roots of this term can be viewed on http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/ethnocentrism.aspx.

Egocentrism and ethnocentrism are different personality and social concepts but it is evident that egocentrism and ethnocentrism similarly focus on holding on to a view of superiority and absolutism. This inherently requires an egotistical and self-centred mind set on the part of an individual, group or society.