Emily M. Zitek

Victim Entitlement to Behave Selfishly

Three experiments demonstrated that feeling wronged leads to a sense of entitlement and to selfish behavior. In Experiment 1, participants instructed to recall a time when their lives were unfair were more likely to refuse to help the experimenter with a supplementary task than were participants who recalled a time when they were bored. In Experiment 2, the same manipulation increased intentions to engage in a number of selfish behaviors, and this effect was mediated by self-reported entitlement to obtain positive (and avoid negative) outcomes. In Experiment 3, participants who lost at a computer game for an unfair reason (a glitch in the program) requested a more selfish money allocation for a future task than did participants who lost the game for a fair reason, and this effect was again mediated by entitlement.

The fluency of social hierarchy: the ease with which hierarchical relationships are seen, remembered, learned, and liked.

We tested the hypothesis that social hierarchies are fluent social stimuli; that is, they are processed more easily and therefore liked better than less hierarchical stimuli. In Study 1, pairs of people in a hierarchy based on facial dominance were identified faster than pairs of people equal in their facial dominance. In Study 2, a diagram representing hierarchy was memorized more quickly than a diagram representing equality or a comparison diagram. This faster processing led the hierarchy diagram to be liked more than the equality diagram. In Study 3, participants were best able to learn a set of relationships that represented hierarchy (asymmetry of power)--compared to relationships in which there was asymmetry of friendliness, or compared to relationships in which there was symmetry--and this processing ease led them to like the hierarchy the most. In Study 4, participants found it easier to make decisions about a company that was more hierarchical and thus thought the hierarchical organization had more positive qualities. In Study 5, familiarity as a basis for the fluency of hierarchy was demonstrated by showing greater fluency for male than female hierarchies. This study also showed that when social relationships are difficult to learn, peoples preference for hierarchy increases. Taken together, these results suggest one reason people might like hierarchies--hierarchies are easy to process. This fluency for social hierarchies might contribute to the construction and maintenance of hierarchies.

Stress and anxiety scores in first and repeat IVF cycles: a pilot study.

Background The role of stress in reproduction, particularly during treatment for infertility, has been of considerable interest; however, few studies have objectively measured stress and anxiety over the course of the IVF cycle or compared the experience of first-time and repeat patients. Methods This prospective cohort pilot study enrolled 44 women undergoing IVF at a university-based clinic to complete the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale (ISES) at three time points prior to ovarian stimulation (T1), one day prior to oocyte retrieval (T2), and 5–7 days post embryo transfer (T3). Results Mean STAI State scores were significantly elevated at all three time points (p<0.01). STAI State and PSS mean values did not change over time and did not differ in first-time vs. repeat patients. Self-efficacy (ISES) scores declined over time, with a greater decline for repeat patients. Of the 36 women who completed a cycle, 15 achieved clinical pregnancy. Using logistic regression modeling, all scores at T2 were correlated with pregnancy outcome with lower scores on the STAI State and PSS and higher scores on the ISES associated with higher pregnancy rates. Conclusions Stress and anxiety levels remained elevated across all cycles. Women with lower stress and anxiety levels on the day prior to oocyte retrieval had a higher pregnancy rate. These results emphasize the need to investigate stress reduction modalities throughout the IVF cycle.

Marital Status Bias in Perceptions of Employees

Three studies documented effects of marital status on perceptions of employees or prospective employees. In Experiment 1, participants rated a married female job applicant as less suitable for employment than a single counterpart. In Experiment 2, participants again perceived a female job applicant less favorably when she was married; in contrast, a male applicant was perceived more favorably when married. In Experiment 3, participants predicted that a recently married womans job performance and dedication would decline, whereas a recently married mans dedication was predicted to rise; this difference made participants more willing to lay off the woman than the man.

Narcissism Predicts Support for Hierarchy (At Least When Narcissists Think They Can Rise to the Top)

Five studies tested the relationship between narcissism and support for hierarchy. Narcissism was associated with endorsing group-based hierarchy, income inequality, and hierarchy in business (Studies 1a–1b) and with liking organizations with a hierarchical structure (Studies 2a–2b). Analyses suggested that more narcissistic participants’ preference for a hierarchy may have been due at least partly to their current high standing in that hierarchy (Studies 1a–1b) or their expectation that they will rise in rank (Studies 2a–2b). When participants learned about an organization where it was possible or impossible to rise in rank, there was a positive relationship between narcissism and support for hierarchy if it was possible to rise in rank, whereas the same relationship was negative if it was not possible to rise in rank (Study 3). These studies provide evidence consistent with the idea that narcissistic individuals prefer hierarchies because they are or think they will be on the top.

Psychological Entitlement Predicts Failure to Follow Instructions

Six studies examined the relationship between psychological entitlement and not following instructions. In Study 1, more entitled individuals were more likely to ignore instructions about how to format their responses. Studies 2–4 investigated possible boundaries on the association between entitlement and ignoring instructions; however, entitled people were more likely to ignore instructions even when following instructions was low cost for the self, instructions were given in a less controlling way, or punishment was highly likely to result from a failure to follow instructions. To explore another possible explanation for the relationship between entitlement and ignoring instructions, Study 5 examined whether entitled people were more sensitive to situations potentially unfair to them; indeed, they were more likely to reject offers in an ultimatum game. Building on this finding, in Study 6, more entitled individuals’ greater likelihood of ignoring instructions was predicted by their viewing instructions as an unfair demand on them.

Did You Reject Me for Someone Else? Rejections That Are Comparative Feel Worse:

Rejections differ. For those who are rejected, one important difference is whether they are rejected for someone else (comparative rejection) or no one at all (noncomparative rejection). We examined the effect of this distinction on emotional reactions to a rejection in four studies (N = 608), one of which was fully preregistered. Our results show that comparative rejections feel worse than noncomparative rejections and that this may be because such rejections lead to an increased sense of exclusion and decreased belonging. Furthermore, we found evidence that, by default, people react to a rejection as though it were comparative—that is, in the absence of any information about whether they have been rejected for someone or no one, they react as negatively as if they were rejected for someone. Our discussion focuses on the implications of these findings, including why people often seek out information in the wake of a rejection.