Academic Entitlement Linked to Job Entitlement and Reduced Grit
Poster Number
073
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Faculty Mentor
Darren Ritzer, Ph.D
Abstract
Our study examined whether academic entitlement predicted job entitlement. Further expanding on the research in this area, we explored how these two constructs related to the trait of grit, a perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Participants were 26 men and 75 women with a mean age of 31.20 (SD = 13.98). Seventy-eight percent were Caucasian, 12% were African American, and the remainder reported other ethnicities. Participants responded to scales that assessed general entitlement, academic entitlement, and grit. We developed a job entitlement scale loosely based on scales that assessed general and academic entitlement. Our findings suggest that individuals who feel a sense of entitlement in one realm of their lives are likely to experience that sense of entitlement in other realms. Specifically, a sense of academic entitlement predicted a sense of entitlement in the workplace. Men were more prone to academic entitlement but reported similar levels of job and overall entitlement as women, suggesting that these are independent constructs. Previous research documented negative outcomes associated with both academic and job entitlement. Our results directly compared these types of entitlement, with academic entitlement predicting lower college grades and less perseverance toward long-term goals, and thus emerging as more detrimental.
Previously Presented/Performed?
SAEOPP McNair/SSS Scholars Research Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, June 2018
Grant Support?
Supported by a Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education
Start Date
12-4-2019 2:15 PM
End Date
April 2019
Academic Entitlement Linked to Job Entitlement and Reduced Grit
Richardson Ballroom – DiGiorgio Campus Center
Our study examined whether academic entitlement predicted job entitlement. Further expanding on the research in this area, we explored how these two constructs related to the trait of grit, a perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Participants were 26 men and 75 women with a mean age of 31.20 (SD = 13.98). Seventy-eight percent were Caucasian, 12% were African American, and the remainder reported other ethnicities. Participants responded to scales that assessed general entitlement, academic entitlement, and grit. We developed a job entitlement scale loosely based on scales that assessed general and academic entitlement. Our findings suggest that individuals who feel a sense of entitlement in one realm of their lives are likely to experience that sense of entitlement in other realms. Specifically, a sense of academic entitlement predicted a sense of entitlement in the workplace. Men were more prone to academic entitlement but reported similar levels of job and overall entitlement as women, suggesting that these are independent constructs. Previous research documented negative outcomes associated with both academic and job entitlement. Our results directly compared these types of entitlement, with academic entitlement predicting lower college grades and less perseverance toward long-term goals, and thus emerging as more detrimental.
