“This
obedience to the voice of the Earth is more important for our future
happiness... than the desires of the moment.”
– Pope
Benedict XVI
Negative
psychological effects of the quarantine – most commonly boredom,
perceived immobility, and anxiety – are beginning to wear on most
people and seem likely to become more serious over time. Why do some
people readily submit to these effects and increasingly take risks
while others willingly follow orders and recommendations that err on
the side of safety?
Obedience
occurs when we are told to do something (authority), whereas
conformity happens through social pressure (the norms
of the majority).
Obedience involves a
hierarchy of power/status. Therefore, the person giving the order has
a higher status than the person receiving the order.
Most people conform and
maintain obedience with minimal opposition. Much of this is because
they have a natural desire to avoid change. Traditionally they tend
to stick with rules and routines that they are used to following.
They obey rules that are ingrained in society because deviating might
mean losing what they have already established.
Still, some object to
limitations to their personal freedoms. They view obedience to some
norms as unnecessary encroachments on their freedom, their liberty,
or even their Constitutional rights.
Protests are the result of
people believing rules and laws are incorrect. In order to have these
perceived injustices rectified, they have to break some rules.
Psychologically, they feel their knowledge outranks the traditional
hierarchies. This can include parent to child, teacher to student, or
citizen to government relationships.
Who is most apt to protest
against the norms of the majority and reject authority?
A study by Emily Zitek and
Alexander Jordan in Social Psychological and Personality Science
(SPPS, 2018) from Cornell and the Harvard Medical School found that
people with a greater sense of entitlement are less likely to follow
instructions than less entitled people are, because they view the
instructions as an “unfair” imposition on them. They would rather
lose at something than "submit" to the rules of others.
And, the research also found these entitled people are also less
concerned about what is socially acceptable or beneficial.
Admittedly, according to
research, sometimes a bit of fleeting entitlement can be a good
thing; it can increase creativity and lead to novel, unusual
solutions to problems, the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that
organizations and employers encourage. However, on the negative side,
entitled disposition may diminish the motivation to put in extra
effort.
Psychological entitlement
is a personality trait characterized by pervasive feelings of
deservingness, specialness, and exaggerated expectations. Entitlement
as a cognitive-personality increases vulnerability to psychological
distress.
Research reveals …
“Entitled individuals
are likely to interpret these unmet expectations in ways that foster
disappointment, ego threat, and a sense of perceived injustice, all
of which may lead to psychological distress indicators such as
dissatisfaction across multiple life domains, anger, and generally
volatile emotional responses.”
(Grubbs,
J. B., & Exline, J. J. “Trait entitlement: A
cognitive-personality source of vulnerability to psychological
distress.” Psychological Bulletin. 2016.)
People are making huge
sacrifices, including often their jobs and income. But we must all
put the common good ahead of our personal interests – as difficult
as that might be in many cases. People’s lives depend on it. The
idea of staying home to protect the greater health of the community
is a tough sell, particularly in an era of entitlement.
People who are entitled or
who are self-focused and egoistic may not be able to connect the dots
to help the world at large. People who are entitled believe the rules
do not apply to them, and while that can be merely annoying when they
skip the line at the supermarket, it is dangerous when the world is
trying to contain a virus.
Ramani Durvasula, Ph.D.
and professor of psychology at California State University, Los
Angeles says …
“Sadly, we are living
in an era of entitlement, of selfishness, of egotism, of limited
empathy. If this virus was making everyone significantly ill or made
a visible impact (e.g. like a rash or other visible sign)—the most
entitled and selfish amongst us would have felt enough of a personal
sense of vulnerability and fear and may have followed the containment
procedures more readily. But for these types of personalities, the
idea of sacrifice for others is an all but impossible sell. Most
health officials recognize that we have lost the battle on
containment and at best can hope for mitigation.
“Please stop
minimizing this and listen to what you are being told to do. I can
only hope that we, as a world, may actually emerge from this a little
less selfish, less entitled, and a little more willing to keep an eye
out for each other. We, as a society, have been hurtling toward a
pathological level of selfishness that has already been taking a toll
on the mental health of many. We are now seeing, in a very acute way,
the toll it may take on the health of the world as well.”
(Ramani
Durvasula. “Entitlement, Narcissism and the Spread of a Virus.”
Psychology Today. March 16, 2020.)
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