The converse is also true. What we bring to the table in relating to others I think plays a part in how we see them.

As an example, I always believed that just about everyone I met was better than I was--at anything. The result is that it puts you in a constant state of defense on the one hand, and the bigger pull to just slink into a corner and not be recognized at all on the other.

The upshot is that with this self perspective we can be blind to fact that those we see as "better" might not be the jerks we think they are because they may, in fact, not be.