Psychological entitlement and conspiracy beliefs: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Psychological entitlement describes the dispositional tendency to claim excessive and unearned rewards and resources, and to demand undeserved special treatment. In one experiment, one cross-sectional survey, and one time-separated survey (total n = 721), we show that psychological entitlement is associated with general conspiracy theory endorsement, COVID-19 specific conspiracy theory endorsement, and conspiracy theorizing as an overarching cognitive style. We find those high in entitlement are more likely to report having made discretionary visits to non-essential venues and services (e.g. buffets, spas, casinos) during the pandemic, and that these risky public health behaviors are mediated through beliefs in conspiracy theories. We identify consequences for public health behavior and conclude with a research agenda for better understanding the underlying mechanisms linking entitlement and conspiracy beliefs.

Do economic equality and generalized trust inhibit academic dishonesty? Evidence from state-level search-engine queries.

What effect does economic inequality have on academic integrity? Using data from search-engine queries made between 2003 and 2011 on Google and state-level measures of income inequality and generalized trust, I found that academically dishonest searches (queries seeking term-paper mills and help with cheating) were more likely to come from states with higher income inequality and lower levels of generalized trust. These relations persisted even when controlling for contextual variables, such as average income and the number of colleges per capita. The relation between income inequality and academic dishonesty was fully mediated by generalized trust. When there is higher economic inequality, people are less likely to view one another as trustworthy. This lower generalized trust, in turn, is associated with a greater prevalence of academic dishonesty. These results might explain previous findings on the effectiveness of honor codes.

Effects of customer entitlement on service workers' physical and psychological well-being: a study of waitstaff employees.

This exploratory study examines the nature of customer entitlement and its impact on front-line service employees. In an open-ended qualitative inquiry, 56 individuals with waitstaff experience described the types of behaviors entitled customers engage in and the kinds of service-related "perks" these individuals feel deserving of. Participants explained how they responded to entitled customers, how and when managers became involved, and how their dealings with these patrons influenced their subjective physical and psychological well-being. We found that the behaviors of entitled customers negatively impacted waitstaff employees. Participants reported physiological arousal, negative affect, burnout, and feelings of dehumanization as a result of dealing with these patrons. While respondents drew on a variety of strategies to manage their encounters with entitled customers, they indicated workplace support was often informal and described feeling abandoned by management in dealing with this workplace stressor. Approaching customer entitlement as a form of microaggression, we offer recommendations for practice and suggest new directions for future research.