To me it's neither a good or bad thing.

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Excessively selfish behavior seems to be more a symptom of other psychological behaviors though, so I can't fault it on its own.

It can depend.

Am I donating money to a charitable cause because the end goal is to make me look good, or is it stealing money so I can buy something for myself later?

Sometimes selfishness has an indirect result of being a good act to people around you or those involved in the act, while it can also be straight up malicious in nature with no intended or unintended good outcomes for anyone but yourself. It's easier to do the latter of course, so I'd hazard that selfishness is seen as a more negative thing because we are lazy and it's just easier to be a total asshole more of the time than "selfishness in disguise".

Sometimes, catering to yourself is actually the least selfish thing you can do; if it'll help you be able to contribute more towards other peoples' lives in the future. It's a very grey question, because you have to consider the result of an act that's selfish in the moment, but actually more charitable later on. Granted, this is a really rare circumstance, as far as I know.

Also, another way I can look at this is whether or not you can justify selfishness where nobody really benefits but yourself. I believe that it's important to indulge a little bit in life, and have fun, so long as you aren't hurting anybody else as a result. Constantly dedicating yourself to the needs of others without catering to your own is a mind-numbing way to live your life.

And then, another way of looking at it is understanding that literally everything you do is selfish. Literally everything; even the most unselfish thing you can think of. If I donate my life savings to some charity, I've done a great thing, and I've deprived myself of a quality life as a result. But at the same time, it was still a selfish action, because you did it because you knew you would be satisfied with the result, and gratify yourself.

It all depends on the context. Selfishness doesn't exist in a black and white picture. It's like a big long colour strip, I'd figure. With basically, one end gaining you more because of your selfish actions that extend far beyond yourself and what you need, and the other end, gaining you less, only requiring the bare minimum of self interest and need.

Honestly, I think the closest thing you can ever come to a selfless act, is willingly dying for saving somebody else. And not a spur of the moment choice either, but a fully aware choice where the only likely outcome will be death. At that point, you yourself will have nothing to gain because you'll be dead.

But I honestly can't really say. I think selfishness itself is neutral.

But the manner in which you direct your selfishness and actively shape it, so to speak, on that little colour strip detemermines whether it's "bad" or "good."