Entitlement is a personality trait characterized by exaggerated feelings of deservingness and superiority. According to research published in Psychological Bulletin, this trait can lead to chronic disappointment, unmet expectations, and self-reinforcing cycles with serious social and psychological repercussions.
People with a sense of entitlement tend to cause conflict, act dishonestly and act selfishly. Additionally, they often cause others to feel guilty or resentful.
People with a sense of entitlement are more likely to create conflict
People with a sense of entitlement often have high expectations that are not met, leading to disappointment and other psychological problems. Furthermore, they may struggle with maintaining healthy relationships and feeling unfairly treated by others.
Psychology defines entitlement as the belief that one is deserving of something due to one’s identity or past actions. This trait is common and can manifest at various points in one’s life; however, it can lead to significant difficulties as well.
One of the most prevalent forms of entitlement is narcissistic entitlement. This belief that you are important or superior to others warrants special treatment and resources in order to prove it; this could take the form of extra money, credit cards, or special treatment at work.
Narcissistic entitlement often leads to selfish behavior and the use of one’s privilege for personal gain at the expense of others. For instance, they may request more candy at a party than other children or earn a higher salary than other employees in their company.
They may demand special consideration and respect, and act out if not received. This type of behavior is common in relationships and often leads to considerable conflict.
If you are dealing with someone who has a sense of entitlement, you must learn how to recognize and address it. Doing so can help avoid the negative outcomes that stem from such behaviors.
Another important principle to remember is that you don’t have to fulfill the expectations of someone with entitlement. Instead, let them know that their desires cannot be granted.
Additionally, you should strive to find ways to help them without expecting anything in return. For instance, you could offer to babysit on short notice or give them a gift that will boost their self-worth.
They are more likely to behave dishonestly
People with this distorted perception often experience various emotions, including anger and depression. Additionally, they may exhibit physical signs such as high blood pressure or heart problems.
If you live or work with someone who has an entitlement mentality, it’s essential to learn how to effectively deal with them. Otherwise, the disruption they cause can be unnecessary and frustrating.
These individuals don’t consider who might be hurt when seeking what they feel entitled to, and so may engage in dishonest behavior to achieve their desires. This tendency is especially prevalent if they lack self-control – such as many highly entitled people have.
Entitlement is the product of a complex interaction of factors, including social desirability, narcissism and low self-esteem. It has been associated with many negative consequences such as poor relationships and interpersonal conflicts (Campbell, Bonacci, Shelton, Exline & Bushman 2004; Boswell 2012).
Our previous research (Campbell, Bonacci, Shelton & Exline, 2004) suggested that people with a sense of entitlement may seek status through prestige and dominance. Our studies 1A and 1B supported this explanation; higher scores on the Psychological Entitlement Scale predicted greater prestige and dominance motivation even when controlling for social desirability, narcissism or self-esteem.
Next, we altered entitlement in Studies 2A and 2B to explore its potential causal effects on envy (Crusius & Lange, 2017). As expected, more entitled individuals displayed greater benign as well as malicious envy when exposed to high-status individuals.
Furthermore, they attributed more status to themselves when confronting high-status individuals; however, their peers rated their level of entitlement less highly than those with lower entitlement.
People with a sense of entitlement may strive to attain status through the pursuit of prestige and dominance, yet their goals may never be fulfilled. They remain vulnerable to status threats and their desired status may never fully materialize. Furthermore, they may never truly feel satisfied with their position since status is determined by social consensus among peers.
They are more likely to act selfishly
The emotional cost of entitlement on others is well documented. People with a sense of entitlement often feel let down and this leads to feelings of resentment or anger, selfish behavior and even hostility and aggression (Zitek & Jordan, 2010).
Entitlement may create a cycle of unmet expectations that leads to chronic disappointment and social distress. Furthermore, more-entitled individuals experience more conflict with others over time and lower their status in long-term relationships (Moeller et al., 2009; Carlson & DesJardins, 2015).
These results indicate that an account of entitlement based on status-seeking is justified. More privileged people are motivated to attain status through prestige and dominance motivation, while experiencing envy toward higher-status others as an affective social functional means for regulating status hierarchies (Crusius & Lange, 2017; Lange & Crusius, 2015b).
In the present studies, we explored whether people with higher entitlement levels demonstrated greater prestige and dominance motivation when confronting high-status others. As predicted, they displayed greater benign and malicious envy (Studies 1A and 1B; Studies 2A and 2B), as well as less peer-rated prestige and dominance (Studies 3A and 3B).
Our studies consistently observed indirect effects of entitlement on status attainment. However, in Studies 1A and 1B the influence of entitlement on envy was stronger than in Study 2, suggesting that context may matter when people with higher entitlement might not always desire status in certain situations.
They are more likely to make others feel guilty or resentful
Emotional Cost of Entitlement for Others
People who feel entitled often tend to make others uncomfortable, whether through asking for things they do not deserve such as more money at work or better treatment in school. They may even attempt to convince others they are wrong when they disagree with them.
In certain circumstances, feelings of entitlement can be beneficial to those who believe they deserve more money or better treatment at work. Unfortunately, these benefits tend to be short-lived.
Researchers believe people with a sense of entitlement are motivated by their desire for status. Not only do they desire admiration and approval from others, but they also need to feel accepted by their peers.
They may not be successful in reaching their objectives, leading them to feel disappointed and angry. Furthermore, they become more likely to engage in dishonest behaviors.
This type of entitlement can have detrimental effects on those involved, such as depression and damaged relationships.
One of the best ways to prevent this issue is by not allowing someone who feels entitled into your life. They won’t treat you with respect and will only cause conflict for you.
You can help a person struggling with this issue by exploring why they feel so entitled. This could be done in collaboration with a therapist or counselor.
Therapists can assist you in understanding the origin of your feelings of entitlement and giving you tools to alter your behavior and interact with others more healthy. Furthermore, they provide coping skills so that you no longer feel the need to feel entitled in the first place.
Psychologists have observed that individuals with a sense of entitlement often make changes when seeking professional assistance. They learn new ways of relating to others and develop coping skills so as not to spiral into depression.