# 53. Social manipulation ## 53.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 53.5.2. Egocentric bias This occurs when people claim more personal responsibility for the results of a joint action than an outside observer would credit them. It is also an inclination to overstate changes between the present and the past to make people look better than they actually are. This rather annoying bias occurs quite often when one partner takes more credit than is due to them, or when someone deliberately talks up their accomplishments despite the reality that many people were responsible for that achievement. Despite the unpleasant aspect of this bias, it does have its uses to a manipulator. Very often an egocentric person can be very useful, for instance, when a manipulator wants to "hedge their bets" in taking a particular action. If things don't work out as expected, it can be very useful to have an egocentric type around who is willing to boast of their responsibility for the undertaking. For the manipulator, this provides a useful insurance policy if things go wrong. The egocentric victim becomes a ready and willing fall-guy, the scapegoat having already boasted of his responsibility for the success-turned-failure. This is related to the Self-serving bias, which is a tendency to claim more responsibility for successes than for failures. It may also manifest itself as a tendency for people to evaluate ambiguous information in a way beneficial to their interests (see also group-serving bias).