Extreme Pressure and No Control: Profiles of Characteristics Breeding Academic Entitlement

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: Student Learning and Development in Higher Education Poster Session

Abstract

Academic entitlement (AE) is increasingly pervasive in higher education, manifesting as grade disputes, noncompliance, and general incivility. We supplemented prior variable-centered literature with a person-centered approach. Hierarchical and k-means cluster analyses of responses from 79 undergraduates on measures of AE and facilitators of AE resulted in a 3-cluster solution, robust across starting values. The high AE cluster demonstrated excessive pressure to achieve, moderate perseverance, only moderate work avoidance, and external locus of control. Discriminant function analysis revealed clusters statistically significantly differed on help-seeking attitudes and behaviors (Wilk's Lambda = .54, p < .001). Results advance theories on the function of AE in higher education as a response to excessive pressure, refuting theories that paint entitled students as lazy.

Authors

• Monica K Erbacher, University of Arizona

• Eric D Smith, University of Arizona