I Know My Rights! What Do You Mean, 'My Responsibilities'? Academic Entitlement: Sensitization Exercises
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)
Department
Psychology and Special Education
Date of Award
Fall 2011
Abstract
Student incivility refers to negative student behaviors that disrupt college classrooms and impede learning. Incivility has also recently been attributed to a phenomenon known as academic entitlement, an expectation of academic success without the related sense of personal responsibility (Chowning & Campbell, 2009). Academic entitlement has also been linked to increased anxiety, extrinsic motivation, and cheating (Greenberger, Lessard, Chen, & Farruggia, 2008). This construct has been identified and it is measurable; the next logical step was to investigate how best to reduce it in order to decrease student incivility. The current study used three sensitization exercises and a control group. Exercises included a presentation by an authority figure that introduced new policy to address academic entitlement, a peer group in which confederates reacted to a non-present, entitled student, and a thought experiment. Two hypotheses were tested. First, at least one of three interventions did significantly reduce entitlement. Second, a thought experiment was sufficient to arouse cognitive dissonance.
Advisor
Gail Johnson
Subject Categories
Education | Educational Psychology
Recommended Citation
White, Timothy Gilbert, "I Know My Rights! What Do You Mean, 'My Responsibilities'? Academic Entitlement: Sensitization Exercises" (2011). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 66.
https://digitalcommons.tamuc.edu/etd/66
