Skip to main content
Log in

“I Bought My Degree, Now I Want My Job!” Is Academic Entitlement Related to Prospective Workplace Entitlement?

  • Published:
Innovative Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Academic entitlement, a term that defines students’ expectations of academic success independent of performance, has been linked with a number of maladaptive behaviors. This study examined the potential relationship between academic entitlement and prospective workplace entitlement in a sample of Canadian students (N=1024) using an online survey. Multivariate analyses produced a significant (p<0.05) positive relationship between academic entitlement and prospective workplace entitlement. Graduate students had higher levels of prospective workplace entitlement than did undergraduates, and those pursuing degrees in Education and Law had significantly lower levels of prospective workplace entitlement than students in other areas of study. Results support a need to develop strategies to minimize entitlement beliefs prior to an individual’s entry into the workforce.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Boswell, S. S. (2012). I deserve success: Academic entitlement attitudes and their relationships with course self-efficacy, social networking, and demographic variables. Social Psychological Education, 15, 353–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chowning, K., & Campbell, N. J. (2009). Development and validation of a measure of academic entitlement: Individual differences in students’ externalized responsibility and entitled expectations. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 82–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciani, K. D., Summers, J. J., & Easter, M. A. (2008). Gender differences in academic entitlement among college students. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 169, 332–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finney, T. G., & Finney, R. Z. (2010). Are students their universities’ customers? An exploratory study. Education and Training, 52, 276–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisk, G. M. (2010). “I want it all and I want it now!” An examination of the etiology, expression, and escalation of excessive employee entitlement. Human Resource Management Review, 20, 102–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberger, E., Lessard, J., Chen, C., & Farruggia, S. (2008). Self-entitled college students: Contributions of personality, parenting, and motivational factors. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 37, 1193–1204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, P., & Harris, K. J. (2010). Frustration-based outcomes of entitlement and the influence of supervisor communication. Human Relations, 60, 1639–1660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, P., & Martinko, M. J. (2009). An empirical examination of the role of attributions in psychological entitlement and its outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30, 459–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hochwarter, W. A., Thompson, K. W., Perrewe, P. L., Ferris, G. R., & Summers, J. K. (2010). Strain reactions to perceived entitlement behavior by others and contextual stressor: Moderating role of political skill in three samples. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15, 388–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurst, J. L., & Good, L. K. (2009). Generation Y and career choice: The impact of retail career perceptions, expectations and entitlement perceptions. Career Development International, 14, 570–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huseman, R. C., Hatfield, J. D., & Miles, E. W. (1985). Test for individual perceptions of job equity: Some preliminary findings. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 61(3f), 1055–1064.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, D. L., Frey, M. P., & McLellan, C. (n.d). Academic Entitlement Scale. Unpublished Scale.

  • King, W. C., Jr., & Miles, E. W. (1994). The measurement of equity sensitivity. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 61, 133–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kopp, J. P., Zinn, T. E., Finney, S. J., & Jurich, D. P. (2011). The development and evaluation of the academic entitlement questionnaire. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 44, 105–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krahn, H., & Galambos, N. (2014). Work values and beliefs of ‘Generation X’ and ‘Generation Y’. Journal of Youth Studies, 17, 92–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippmann, S., Bulanda, R. E., & Wagenaar, T. C. (2009). Student entitlement: Issues and strategies for confronting entitlement in the classroom and beyond. College Teaching, 57, 197–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menon, M. K., & Sharland, A. (2011). Narcissism, exploitative attitudes, and academic dishonesty: An exploratory investigation of reality versus myth. Journal of Education for Business, 86, 50–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, B. K. (2009). Confirmatory factor analysis of the equity preference questionnaire. Journal of Management, 24, 328–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moeller, S. J., Crocker, J., & Bushman, B. J. (2009). Creating hostility and conflict: Effects of entitlement and self-image goals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 448–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrow, W. (1994). Entitlement and achievement in education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 13, 33–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naumann, S., Minsky, B. D., & Sturman, M. C. (2002). Employee entitlement: A historical examination of employee entitlement. Management Decision, 40, 89–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raeder, S., Wittekind, A., Inauen, A., & Grote, G. (2009). Swiss psychological contract questionnaire [database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. doi 10.1037/t01872-000

  • Sauley, K. S., & Bedeian, A. G. (2000). Equity sensitivity: Construction of a measure and examination of its psychometric properties. Journal of Management, 26, 885–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singleton-Jackson, J., Jackson, D., & Reinhardt, J. (2010). Students as consumers of knowledge: Are they buying what we’re selling? Innovative Higher Education, 35, 343–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singleton-Jackson, J., Jackson, D., & Reinhardt, J. (2011). Academic entitlement: Exploring definitions and dimensions of entitled students. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5(9), 1833–1882.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney, P. D., McFarlin, D. B., & Inderrieden, E. J. (1990). Using relative deprivation theory to explain satisfaction with income and pay level: A multi-study examination. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 423–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy Peirone.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Peirone, A., Maticka-Tyndale, E. “I Bought My Degree, Now I Want My Job!” Is Academic Entitlement Related to Prospective Workplace Entitlement?. Innov High Educ 42, 3–18 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-016-9365-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-016-9365-8

Keywords

Navigation