Why do NTs think everyone is the same?

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Yes, self-awareness ...
... and I would say something more ...
selfishness levels.

Those who are selfish
are more insistent that
everybody should act and think like they do.

I personally feel like selfish as a descriptor adds a certain level of moral judgment, when that's something that at least in my experience is determined by nature. That's not to say you can't grow or shrink it through nurture but the baseline varies widely across the population from what I've seen (though maybe there's literature/studies out there proving me wrong?). Empathy seems to be misunderstood across the board. My dad laughed when I told him I was waiting for confirmation of an asperger's dx, because he said I'm the most emotionally connected and aware person he's ever met. The idea that it can set me apart from other people because it's so profound (or severe, depending on how you see it I suppose).

My MIL (I've talked about her on here before and she's the person I experience the greatest personal conflict with) is definitely NT. She's also not very high on the self-awareness scale in my opinion. Is being selfish a byproduct of this? Yes, I'd say so. But it's not the root. The root is that she's not self-aware of how she thinks compared to how other people think. It's not something she ponders or concerns herself with, so when differences rise up instead of being able to immediately realize "Oh this is because people live, think through, and ultimately experience life differently"... she goes to just "What a weirdo, they are so wrong." But there are lots of ND people who do the same thing. To me it feels unfair to assign any sort of malice or moral wrongdoing for that because that's just how they're wired.

Our brains are beautiful yet complicated things. I think we do a disservice to everyone when we don't acknowledge that and that humans, even split into groups, are not monolith in how their brains function.

I am not saying that everyone who lacks self-awareness is selfish,
just that selfishness is another possible reason why NTs (or others)
might be inclined to think everyone is the same.

My answer is specifically for the OP's "Why would NTs think everyone is the same?"


Expectations have several factors. I'll dub the question as: "Why would X think everyone is the same?"

NTs: Constant human need fulfillment that doesn't need to change.
Lack of exposure (sheltered by the former by getting used to the 'fact' that they are 'correct' with the expectation).
Generalization.
Social order enforcement (Something that doesn't work well with Aspies, nor could perceive it. And fulfilling the former for others).

Autistics: Social cluelessness.
Lack of self awareness.
Deprivation of a certain human need (Many factors, and Mainly the factor).
Black and white thinking.
Obsessions (To structure).
Lack of sense of 'norm' (Have not realized nor perceived).

Human: The human need for predictably (Mainly Autistics are deprived of, NTs are sheltered by this).
Fear of unknown (Mainly NTs out of ignorance, Autistics when it comes to change).
Stereotyping (Many factors, both neurologies are equally guilty).
Ego (Equally guilty).
Lack of Empathy (Equally towards another for both respective factors).
Selfishness (See Ego and human need).


What else? I'm sure that's not all of it.
I cannot judge NDs as whole nor other respective NDs. Because I never observed it.
Then there's the upbringing, predisposition...