It’s a privilege, not an entitlement: Attributions of advantage and perceived deservingness distinguish feelings of privilege and entitlement

• Main Author: TAI, Amos
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
• Subjects: attribution; privilege; entitlement; deservingness; Personality and Social Contexts
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/515; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/etd_coll/article/1513/viewcontent/GPPS_AY2021_MbR_Tai_Yong_En_Amos.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Having an advantage over others can be seen as a privilege or an entitlement. Drawing on attribution theory, we hypothesized that recipients of relative advantage may perceive it as a privilege or an entitlement based on external or internal attributions of their advantage, respectively. Furthermore, we hypothesized that relative to the external attribution of privilege, the internal attribution of entitlement should subsequently predict stronger beliefs of deservingness, as well as stronger feelings of pride in response to received advantage, but stronger feelings of anger when advantage is denied. Study 1 tested the basic attributional processes tied to privilege and entitlement perceptions using a correlational design. We found that individuals high on self-rated entitlement were more likely to rate the advantages held by entitled people as due to individual qualities (e.g., personally earned, within personal control) and less due to external factors (e.g., their group membership), compared to individuals high on self-rated privilege. Study 2 experimentally manipulated attributions for the advantage of going first before other candidates in an initial round of salary negotiation to examine their causal effects on privilege or entitlement perceptions, and indirect effects on deservingness beliefs and emotional responses. Additionally, all participants’ advantages were denied in a second negotiation round. In the initial round, participants led to attribute their advantage to internal reasons (i.e., judged as “top of the pile”) reported stronger entitlement whereas those led to attribute their advantage to external reasons (i.e., randomly determined) reported stronger privilege. However, attributions only showed a significant indirect effect on deservingness and anger through entitlement, but not privilege perceptions. The direct and indirect effects of attributions on deservingness and emotional responses through entitled and privileged perceptions when advantages were denied were mixed. The limitations and implications of our theory are discussed.