Do you know someone who gets excited or upset when others think differently? Perhaps you are in the presence of an intolerant person. Intolerance is the rejection, avoidance, or even elimination of other opinions or people. It is true that being 100% tolerant is something very complicated. However, intolerant people usually have a particular opinion about a topic and cannot tolerate adversity of opinions. Furthermore, they do not accept that, in some aspects, they may be wrong.
Nor is it about everyone thinking the same, since since we can remember each person thinks differently, and that must be respected. In this Psychology-Online article, we will describe what are the characteristics of an intolerant person so you can learn to identify them.
What does it mean to be an intolerant person?
Intolerance is inability to accept opinions contrary to or different from our own. Etymologically, intolerance is a term of Latin origin that comes from the word “intolerantia”, which translates as “one who cannot tolerate other opinions”. For this reason, intolerant people are defined as people incapable of tolerating situations, ideas or people who do not agree with their own thoughts.
Throughout history, intolerance has been the cause of humanity’s great conflicts, whether due to race, sexuality, religion or political ideology. The saddest and cruelest episodes in human history began because of intolerance.
Furthermore, intolerance brings with it intransigence and discrimination, since those who project it are incapable of establishing a dialogue to promote coexistence. Next, we will show you the main characteristics of an intolerant person.
has many prejudices
One of the first characteristics of intolerant people is that they are full of prejudices that They lead them to make value judgments above all. For this reason, they have many established stereotypes, which is why they judge “a priori” any person, idea or opinion, without even getting to know them.
In addition, they are specialists in judging others all the time due to their ideals, values and thoughts. If you want to know the consequences of this behavior, in this article, we will tell you.
She is a fan of her beliefs
Since intolerant people are faithful defenders of their ideas, they have a high degree of fanaticism towards what they believe. Thus, They express an overflowing and excessive passion for their thoughts with the aim of getting others to accept their point of view.
It is common for fanaticism to be greater among groups of people who share the same thought, which often ends in interpersonal conflicts.
Discriminates against people based on their ideals
One of the main characteristics of an intolerant person is that, apart from fanaticism and prejudice, they show a high level of discrimination towards those who do not share their ideals. He even loses patience quickly and loses control at the slightest hint of different thoughts.
Generally, it discriminates for reasons of religion, race, sexual orientation or any other ideology. The truth is that he always looks for an issue or some orientation to justify unequal and disrespectful treatment.
Does not listen to the opinions of others
As we already mentioned, intolerant people are characterized by defending their position with great passion, but not only that, they are unable to listen to the point of view of others. They always think that the truth only belongs to them. Therefore, knowing or listening to what others think or say becomes a waste of time for people who are highly intolerant.
Invent scenarios and knowledge that are not real
In order not to give in to their position, intolerant people invent and create unrealistic scenarios, data and information to support their theory. Another characteristic of this type of personality is that, when cornered by another person’s opinion, They resort to other psychological strategies to defend themselvessuch as aggressiveness or mockery.
Their mental and psychological schemas are rigid
Other characteristic features of intolerant people are that their mental and psychological schemes are very rigid, that is, They are not able to accept a contrary thought. In fact, that makes them very anxious.
Some studies indicate that this psychological rigidity can also cause certain cognitive inflexibility. Thus, intolerant people have great difficulty modifying their learning systems and beliefs. This leads them to adopt aauthoritarian attitude to hide your insecurities.
He likes to keep a routine
Continuing with the characteristics of intolerant people, one of their most striking aspects is that they cannot tolerate changes in their usual routines. In fact, for them what is known gives them security. In other words, they do not like to explore new things so as not to have to face and assimilate any changes in their lives.
It is authoritarian and imposing
Intolerant people have high authoritarian traits. For them only Their ideas have value and they must impose them At whatever price. In the same way, they try to overshadow other people’s thoughts. For this reason, they tend to become aggressive in any communicative exchange and seek to impose their opinions above others.
Has difficulty relating
Another characteristic of an intolerant person is that their the quality of your interpersonal relationships is low. Their authoritarian and imposing behavior makes it difficult for people to enjoy being next to someone who is intolerant.
Let us remember that personal relationships are based mainly on trust, respect and the ability to be empathetic with others and, obviously, these traits are not present in an intolerant person. If you want more information about it, we will tell you in this article.
See people with opposing thoughts as enemies
Perhaps this is one of the most dangerous characteristics of intolerant people, since they see the opposite thought as an enemy. In this sense, they see all people who do not have the same opinion as them as enemies. As a consequence, his social circle is usually very small and they have very little support if any problem arises.
He has an explosive temperament
Intolerant people react explosively and aggressively to any individual who does not think like them. In fact, heContrary opinions become a threat that unleashes anger and hostility. Furthermore, they are incapable of correctly managing emotions, which is why they end up involved in a climate of aggressiveness and .
She can’t stand being criticized
If an intolerant person receives criticism, advice or opinion about something they are not doing correctly, immediately your reaction will be aggressive and will not accept any point of view that is not his own. All criticism becomes threats to your own truth.
He likes to have everything under control
An obvious characteristic of intolerant people is that they like to have everything under control. As we already mentioned, they have a lot of mental rigidity when it comes to their daily routines. Thus, Sudden and simple changes alter them immediately.
Likewise, his way of seeing life has no nuances, that is, either everything is white or everything is black. Therefore, intolerant people want the individuals around them to share that same vision.
She is very jealous
People with a high degree of intolerance They can’t stand to see the triumph of others because they feel and envy. In fact, when someone around them is successful, they may come to see them as an enemy. Most likely, this will cause them great discomfort and even a state of constant anxiety.
You are afraid of the unknown
Another characteristic of an intolerant person is that they have fear of the unknown and uncertainty. Therefore, they enter a state of panic and anxiety if something goes beyond their control. In other words, he doesn’t like spontaneity. In these situations, we recommend reading this article about .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Allport, G.W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
- Bizumic, B., Kenny, A., Iyer, R., Tanuwira, J., Huxley, E. (2017). Are the ethnically tolerant free from discrimination, prejudice and political intolerance? European Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 457 – 471. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2263
- Cohen, A.J. (2004). What is tolerance? Ethics, 115, 68 – 95. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/421982