The Age of Entitlement:
Students Today
W. Keith Campbell
SEC Academic Leadership
Development Program
Understanding Generations 101
• Defining generation
– contiguous birth-cohorts
– Shared physical location
– share and create a specific sociocultural context
• Generations are largely about cultural change
• We can see these changes in cultural products (e.g., song lyrics) and
in the personality of individuals
• Most changes are linear – not abrupt – there is rarely a radical
change between generations
• Also some words of caution:
– Young people do not raise themselves
– Differences are larger at the extremes than the means
– Generational effects and developmental effects both need to be
accounted for
– Changes are positive and negative
Recent Generations
Silent
1925-1945
Boomers
1946-1964
Generation X
1965-1979
Millennials
1980-1999
?????
2000-2019
2
0
0
4
Big Theme: Increasing Individualism
• Bright Side:
– Increasing tolerance
– Increasing Self-views
(uniqueness, selfesteem)
• Dark Side:
– Increasing narcissism
and entitlement
– Increasing Materialism
– Decreasing communal
and civic behavior
– Decreasing creativity and
intrinsic motivation
– Decreasing mental
health in certain
domains
Increasing Tolerance
• less prejudice against
people based on group
membership
• Less racial prejudice
• Less Homophobia
• Tolerance for
communists, atheists
and militarists
• More Prejudice against
the overweight
Change in Gender Pronouns
1.2
1
he, him, his, himself
she, her, hers, herself
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
d’s = -2.71 and 3.28
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
0
Uniqueness in Culture
Analysis of Self-Admiring Phrases
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
Love Yourself
1
I am Special
0.5
Just be Yourself
0
-0.5
-1
-1.5
1890
1910
1930
1950
1970
1990
2010
unpublished data; y axis is percentage x 1,000,000 and standardized
Uniqueness: The Decline of
Common Names
40
James
Robert
John
35
30
25
20
15
Jacob
Michael
Ethan
Mary
Linda
Barbara
Boys
Girls
10
Emily
Isabella
Emma
5
0
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2007
Twenge, Abebe & Campbell,
2010
Hip New Names
1000
900
800
700
600
Messiah
500
King
Prince
400
300
200
100
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Self-Esteem
“I am special” song for
preschoolers
(to the tune of "Frere Jacques")
I am special,
I am special,
Look at me,
You will see,
Someone very special,
Someone very special,
It is me,
It is me.
Everyone is a Winner!



Everyone gets a trophy
Not keeping score
School awards
High School Grade Increases
U.S. Department of Education
Changes in Self-Views in High School
85
75
self-satisfaction
very good spouse
very good parent
very good worker
A average
10+ hrs homework
65
55
45
35
25
15
1975
2006
Twenge & Campbell, Psychological Science, November 2008
Increases in Self-esteem (U.S.)
35
34
33
32
31
Middle School
30
High School
29
College
28
27
26
1988
2004-2008
Gentile, Twenge & Campbell, 2010
Percentage above average
College Freshman Rating Self Above Average
80
Self-confidence (intellectual)
70
Self-confidence (social)
60
Drive to achieve
50
Leadership ability
40
Public speaking ability
30
Writing ability
20
Math ability
10
Artistic ability
1966
2008
Academic ability
Data from American Freshman Survey; n =
6.2 million (Twenge, Campbell, and Gentile,
2012, S&I)
Are Expectations Increasing?
70
60
50
Grad school
expect
Percent
40
Grad school
actual
30
20
Profession
expect
10
Profession actual
0
1976
2000
Monitoring the Future Data; Reynolds et al. 2006
Entitlement in U.S. College Students
 “Trying hard” a valid reason for a professor to increase a
grade:
 66% (2 out of 3)
 “If I have attended most classes for a course, I deserve at
least a B”:
 34% (1 out of 3)
 Professors who won’t let me schedule the final exam
around my vacation are too strict:
 30% (almost 1 out of 3)
 Students (esp. with positive self-views) give professors
bad evaluations after getting poor grades.
Greenberger et al. (2008); Vaillancourt (2012)
Narcissism Increases in U.S. College
Students (NPI)
18
17.5
17
16.5
16
Nationwide
UC Davis
15.5
U South Alabama
15
14.5
14
13.5
1980-84 1985-89 1990-94 1995-99 2000-94 2005-08
Twenge, Konrath, Foster, Campbell, & Bushman (2008); Twenge &
Foster (2009)
Lifetime Prevalence of NPD (nationally
representative sample; N > 34,000)
10
9
8
7
Percent
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
65+
45-64
Age
Stinson et al., 2008
30-44
20-29
Washington
J. Adams
Jefferson
Madison
Monroe
J.Q. Adams
Jackson
Van Buren
W.H. Harrison
Tyler
Polk
Taylor
Fillmore
Pierce
Buchanan
Lincoln
A. Johnson
Grant
Hayes
Garfield
Arthur
Cleveland
B. Harrison
McKinley
T. Roosevelt
Taft
Wilson
Harding
Coolidge
Hoover
F.D. Roosevelt
Truman
Eisenhower
Kennedy
L.B. Johnson
Nixon
Ford
Carter
Reagan
G.H.W. Bush
Clinton
G.W. Bush
U.S. Presidents and Grandiose
Narcissism
Grandiose Narcissism (Z-score)
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
Watts, Lilienfeld, Smith, Miller, Campbell,
Waldman, Rubenzer & Faschingbauer (in
press). Psych Science
Increasing Materialism and Extrinsic
motivation
The Democratization of Fame
Social Media
Geek culture
Architecture
Debt
Fame in Tween Television
Shows (Yuls & Greenfield, 2011)
You get the limo out front
Look around
Hottest
Everyone is shining
now, it'sstyles,
brighter somehow
Look around
every shoe,every color
Nothing's
really as
it seems,
nothing
butto
dreams
You don't
have
to be
afraid
put
Yea,
when
you're
famous
your dream in action
it can be kind of
fun
You and I
your
never
gonna
fade
you'll
beone
the
Gonna
make
a brand
new
sound,
weno
own
thisever discovers
It's
really
youlike
but
town
main attraction
Who woulda thought that a girl like me
We not
can fly
a fantasy
double
a superstaaaaaar!
Now our feet areWould
off the ground
andas
never
look down
just remember
methe best of both worlds,
You get
Welcome
big time
whentoitthe
turns
out right
All the
pretty
people
seen
walkin'
in the
'cuz you know that
if you
livesunshine
in
Welcome to the good times
imagination
Lifeyour
will never
be the same
tomorrow you'll be everybody's
fascination
Narcissism in Celebrities
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
Comedians Musicians
Reality TV
Young & Pinsky, 2006
Actors
Mean from
General
Pop.
Emerging Media
•
•
•
•
Facebook
Twitter
Blogs
YouTube
MySpace
Facebook
.27***
-.05
-.03
.23**
.07
--
.18*
.24**
.10
--.23**
.00
.16*
.21**
.24**
.29***
.32***
.18*
.18†
--.19†
-.28**
--.18*
.19*
.20*
.10
.07
.18*
Objective Page Criteria
Quantity of Social Interaction
Quantity of Information About Self
Quantity of Photos
Subjective Page Criteria
Self-Promoting “About Me”
Self-Promoting General
Entertaining General
Self-Promoting Quotes
Entertaining Quotes
Self-Promoting “Who I’d Like to Meet”
Entertaining “Who I’d Like to Meet”
Main Photo Attractiveness
Main Photo Self-Promotion
Main Photo Sexiness
Self-Promoting Albums
Provocative Albums
Fun Albums
Buffardi & Campbell, 2008, PSPB; Gentile et al. in press
Narcissism and Participation in Geek
Culture
0.25
Correlation with
participation
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
NPI Narcissism
Self-esteem
Materialism: Increased
Square Footage of U.S.
Homes
Square Footage of U.S. Homes
2600
2400
Total Square Feet
2200
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
1970
1990
2005
Year
National Association of Homebuilders
Materialism on Campus: “Hopemobiles” and
Luxury Living
• Luxury Dorms?
• “Students here at the University of Georgia have a name for
some of the fancy cars parked in the lots around campus.
They call them Hopemobiles. But there may soon be fewer of
them.” – New York Times 1/6/11
Easy Credit
Credit allows some
individuals to realize
narcissistic fantasies
This changes norms
for everyone
Consumer and Public Debt
Thanks
Dad!
I’m
broke
The Outstanding Public Debt
as of Oct. 2013 is 16.96
Trillion dollars . . . roughly
$53,500 per person (source U.S.
National Debt Clock)
Weakening Social Bonds:
Can people be trusted?
55
50
45
40
35
R² = 0.6129
30
25
20
1970
1980
1990
Data from General Social Survey (GSS)
2000
2010
Change in Pronoun Use in U.S. Books,
1960-2008
0.79
0.69
0.59
I, me, my, mine, myself
0.49
we, us, our, ours, ourselves
0.39
you, your, yours, yourself,
yourselves
0.29
0.19
d’s = -1.30 to 3.43
0.09
1960
2008
Twenge, Campbell, & Gentile, 2012
Song Lyrics over Time
2
1.5
1
I, me, mine
0.5
We, us
social
0
antisocial
-0.5
-1
-1.5
1980-84 1985-89 1990-94 1995-99 2000-04 2005-07
DeWall, Pond, Campbell & Twenge, in
press, PACA
Empathy among College Students
Konrath et al. (2011), n = 13,737
Concern for Others
4
3.5
3
2.5
Boomer
GenX
2
Millenial
1.5
1
Desire for job
with altruistic
attributes
Desirable to
work in social
service
organization
Participated in
community
affairs or
volunteer work
Charity
donations
(index)
Willing to eat
differently if
means more
food for starving
people
Empathy for
outgroups
(index)
Twenge & Campbell, under
review; MTF data
Decreasing Creativity and Intrinsic Values
after 1990 scores decreased for Fluency
(by 7.00%), Originality (by 3.74%),
Creative Strengths (by 5.75%) scores,
after 1984 scores decreased for
Elaboration (by 36.80%), and after 1998
scores decreased for
Abstractness of Titles (by 7.41%) and
Resistance to Premature Closure
(1.84%). – Kyung-Hee Kim
Life goals: High school seniors
0.5
0.4
0.3
leader in community
0.2
time for recreation
0.1
successful at work
money
0
purpose and meaning
-0.1
strong friendships
-0.2
good marriage & family
-0.3
contribute to society
-0.4
-0.5
Boomers
GenX
GenMe
Twenge, Campbell & Freeman, 2012 JPSP
Life goals: Entering college students
0.8
0.6
very well-off financially
0.4
being the boss
community leader
0.2
recognition for work
0
meaningful phil. of life
-0.2
cleaning up environment
raising a family
-0.4
racial understanding
-0.6
-0.8
Boomers
GenX
Millennials
Twenge, Campbell & Freeman, JPSP 2012
Decline in Mental Health
• 1 out of 10 of Americans on
antidepressants as of 2008
(doubled since 1996)
• More college students using
counseling services
• 1 out of 4 of college students
seen at counseling centers
are on psychiatric
medication (doubled since
1998)
• Anxiety and depressive
symptoms have increased on
standard questionnaires
The Future
Plan A: Ride the horse the direction it
is going
•
•
•
•
Extrinsic values + Ego + Debt
Link education to salaries and jobs
Cool dorms and climbing walls
Student/parent as customer
The Future
Plan B: Counter the trend with CPR
• Connection and
Compassion
• Passion/ “follow your
bliss”
• Responsibility
• The importance of
natural consequences
Thank you!
wkeithcampbell@gmail.com