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A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
06:11

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Published on: February 20, 2019

Victim entitlement to behave selfishly.

Emily M Zitek1, Alexander H Jordan, Benoît Monin

  • 1Department of Psychology, Jordan Hall, Stanford University, Stanford,CA 94305, USA. emilyz@stanford.edu

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|January 21, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Feeling wronged increases selfish behavior and entitlement. Recalling unfairness led to less helping and more selfish intentions, mediated by a sense of entitlement.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Behavioral Economics

Background:

  • Unfair treatment can evoke strong emotional and behavioral responses.
  • Understanding the psychological mechanisms linking perceived injustice to subsequent actions is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the causal link between feeling wronged and subsequent selfish behavior.
  • To examine the mediating role of entitlement in this relationship.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments were conducted involving memory recall and a computer game task.
  • Participants recalled unfair or neutral life events, or experienced unfair/fair outcomes in a game.
  • Self-reported entitlement and behavioral intentions/actions were measured.

Main Results:

  • Recalling unfairness increased refusal to help and intentions for selfish behavior.
  • Experiencing unfairness in a game led to requests for more selfish resource allocation.
  • Self-reported entitlement mediated the effect of feeling wronged on selfish behavior.

Conclusions:

  • Perceived injustice directly promotes a sense of entitlement.
  • This heightened entitlement, in turn, drives individuals towards more selfish actions.
  • Interventions addressing entitlement may mitigate selfish behavior following perceived wrongs.