depreciation tendency

The depreciation tendency is the tendency of the neurotic individual to "enhance his self-esteem by disparaging" others (p. 268). Depreciation of others may take the form of belittling them, of putting them on pedestals only to find fault with them when they make mistakes, or of worrying about them--as if they were not competent to handle their own lives. Depreciating others "secures some triumph" for the individual--or "at least allays the fear of defeat" (p. 269).