Sentimentalism and the Virtue Signaller

The sentimentalist and the virtue-signaller have something in common. In the case of the sentimentalist the beloved object and, in the case of the virtue-signaller, the recipient of the presumed virtue, are, truly, of minor importance. What the sentimentalist and the virtue-signaller really have their eye on is themselves, their emotion, and their goodness. They want the world to see their display of emotion or virtue and have little interest in what happens to the supposed objects of their actions. This can be expressed by saying they are self-regarding.