Mine! Mine! Mine! How Entitlement Attitudes Hurt Us

Most of us are familiar with the various personality tests people have designed to help our self-understanding and personal growth. The tests have been used as tools for psychologists and marriage counsellors as well as consultants striving to improve corporate cultures.

Two of the most familiar are the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Test and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

A few years back I became aware of some of the work being done by PsychTests AIM Inc., a company devoted to developing products to assist in psychological assessments. 

Ilona Jerabek, Ph.D, founder of Psychtests is also a leadership coach. In addition, her company helps other companies hire, train and develop talent. A subsidiary of her business is a website called Queendom, which bears the moniker "Land of Tests." The Queendom site has tests for willpower, pandemic resiliency, integrity, burnout, hypertension risk and much more.

I mention all this because of this press release I received regarding new research on Entitlement.  

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Mine! Mine! Mine! - New Study Indicates That Entitlement Is Linked to Dishonesty

A recent study by Queendom.com reveals that self-entitled adults will resort to deceitful behaviors in order in order to get what they want.

Young children can largely get away with pulling a tantrum when they are not given what they want. Grown-ups, not so much. Seeing a rebuffed adult making a scene in public is awkward, whether it’s about cutting in line, getting VIP treatment, or putting on a mask in order to shop. A strong sense of entitlement can also be a powerful motive for deception, according to recent research conducted by Queendom.com.Their study reveals that self-entitled people may employ underhanded tricks in order to get what they feel they deserve, including manipulation and lying. 

Analyzing data from 8,864 people who took the Integrity and Work Ethics Test, Queendom researchers compared people on different traits related to honesty/dishonesty, based on their level of self-entitlement. Several noteworthy variances were discovered. 

Certain personality attributes can increase a person’s likelihood of acting dishonestly, including the following: (Note: Scores on the traits below range on a scale from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the stronger the trait). 

DECEITFULNESS 

• Score for people with a strong sense of entitlement: 70
• Score for people with a low sense of entitlement: 24 

MANIPULATIVENESS 

• Score for people with a strong sense of entitlement: 78
• Score for people with a low sense of entitlement: 22
  

SELF-INTEREST 

• Score for people with a strong sense of entitlement: 79
• Score for people with a low sense of entitlement: 26 

MACHIAVELLIANISM 

• Score for people with a strong sense of entitlement: 71
• Score for people with a low sense of entitlement: 37 

DISDAIN FOR RULE-FOLLOWERS 

• Score for people with a strong sense of entitlement: 70
• Score for people with a low sense of entitlement: 17 

VINDICTIVENESS 

• Score for people with a strong sense of entitlement: 75
• Score for people with a low sense of entitlement: 28 

DEVIOUSNESS 

• Score for people with a strong sense of entitlement: 80
• Score for people with a low sense of entitlement: 28 

ANTAGONISM 

• Score for people with a strong sense of entitlement: 72
• Score for people with a low sense of entitlement: 24 

SELF-ENTITLED PEOPLE ARE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO: 

• Have an overdeveloped sense of self-importance and superiority (score of 84 vs. 23)
• Desire admiration (74 vs. 25)
• Loathe weakness in others (80 vs. 26), as well as to be gullible (72 vs. 32)
• Take pleasure in other people’s misfortunes (80 vs. 23) 

ON THE FLIPSIDE, SELF-ENTITLED PEOPLE ARE LESS: 

• Remorseful when they commit an act of transgression (56 vs. 83)
• Accountable for their actions (60 vs. 82)
• Willing to stand by their values, should they have any (55 vs. 86)
• Trustworthy (53 vs. 78)
• Loyal (55 vs. 72)
• Discreet (41 vs. 73)
• Empathetic (55 vs. 76) 

“There are a number of factors that can breed a strong sense of entitlement,” explains Dr. Jerabek. “It’s important to first point out, however, that when we talk about entitlement, we’re not referring to a person’s fundamental right to safety, medical care, justice, respect, and love. We’re talking about people who demand and expect preferential treatment. This attitude is often seen in narcissists, people who have a chip on their shoulder, or who were raised by permissive, over-indulgent parents. However, a person may also develop a strong sense of entitlement as a result of over-compensating for low self-esteem, abandonment, betrayal, or an injustice. This compels the person to put their own needs first, to fight for their demands to be meet, regardless of the cost or inconvenience to others. And as our study has revealed, they have no qualms about using underhanded means to get what they want.” 

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Want to assess your integrity? Check out their Integrity and Work Ethics Test, at https://www.queendom.com/tests/take_test.php?idRegTest=3976 

 To learn more about psychological testing, here's a free eBook:

 http://hrtests.archprofile.com/personality-tests-in-hr

 

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