Psychological Entitlement

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Abstract

1 Introduction

2 Literature Review
2.1 Entitlement
2.1.1 Definitions of Entitlement
2.1.2 Entitlement and Narcissism
2.1.3 Forms of Entitlement and its effects
2.2 Physical Attractiveness
2.2.1 General Definition of physical attractiveness
2.2.2 Self-perception of physical attractiveness
2.3 Consumer Expectations in Service Environments

3 Methodology
3.1 Design
3.2 Ethical Considerations
3.3 Participants
3.4 Instruments
3.4.1 Entitlement
3.4.2 Physical Attractiveness
3.4.3 Service Expectations
3.4.4 Demographic Questions
3.5 Procedure

4 Results

5 Discussion
5.1 Marketing Implication
5.2 Limitations
5.3 Future Research

6 Conclusion

7 Bibliography

8 Appendices
Appendix A: Qualtrics Questionnaire
Appendix B: Descriptive Statistics
Appendix C: Test results H1
Appendix D: Factor Analysis
Appendix E: Test results H2
Appendix F: Test results H3

Acknowledgement

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family, without whom I would never have had the opportunity to move to the United Kingdom for my master's studies. I close the chapter University of Sussex now with this thesis in which creation my boyfriend Florian always supported me. Thank you for bearing me.

I would also like to thank my supervisor Alexandra Polyakova, who first drew my attention to this exciting topic. Thank you for the time you've invested in me and my study. Finally, I would like to thank all those who have sacrificed their time to participate in my study. You deserve to be first on the Titanic lifeboat!

List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1: Illustration Hypotheses

Table 1: Coefficientsa Bivariate Regression

Abstract

Some people think they are entitled to more than others. This behaviour can be classified and is called Psychological Entitlement. This study examines Entitlement in a service context using an online survey with 248 participants. As the first of its kind, this studyis able to confirm a connection between self-awareness of physical attractiveness and entitled behaviour. In addition, it is shown that individuals who show Entitlement also have higher expectations of the emphatic behaviour of service personnel. Thus, it can be confirmed that psychological entitlement is not just a theoretical construct, but a concept that influences everyday life in a relevant manner. A relationship between attractiveness and expectations could only be established by the Mediator Entitlement. This means that individuals who consider themselves to be particularly attractive do not automatically have high expectations of services. This only becomes relevant through a certain degree of entitlement.

1 Introduction

Some people believe that they deserve special treatment, be it in a private context or especially in service environments. This phenomenon has now developed into a tangible and investigable construct: Psychological Entitlement. This is a concept that has developed from that of narcissism and accordingly represents many facets of narcissism. However, a decisive difference can be seen in interaction with other people. Narcissists pay little attention to third parties, while entitled individuals need social comparison to feel special (Rose & Anastasio, 2014).

Entitled behaviour affects society. This effect is evident not only in the private context, but especially in the service sector, where consumers demand special treatment. Various studies deal with entitlement and its effects in the consumer environment (e.g. Fisk & Neville, 2011; Boyd & Helms, 2005; Butori et al. 2010 etc.). Since Entitlement presents itself as a construct close to narcissism, physical attractiveness must also be included as a factor. Physical attractiveness is composed of many different elements and influences social environment and consumer environment. It is assumed that it is precisely the self-perception of attractiveness that plays a major role in the construct of entitlement. This self-assessment is based on various factors, one of which is, for example, social comparison (Cash, Cash & Butters,1983). The assessment of one's own physical attractiveness has an influence on self­esteem (Bale & Archer, 2013). How self-confident a person is in turn has an effect on how he or she behaves in the social context (e.g. Baumeister et al. 2003). Additionally, findings from Holtzman and Strube, 2010, show that there is a positive correlation between narcissism and attractiveness. Taken these evidences together, they suggest that someone who values themselves as particularly attractive behaves differently than someone who values their own physical appearance less positively. It is assumed that this can also be transferred to consumer behaviour. The present study intends to be the first to examine the links between these variables. In this way, a contribution will be made to better understand consumer behaviour. In addition, it may be possible to provide an approach on how service providers should meet entitled consumers. This knowledge could be used to structure trainings for employees on how to interact with customers, since entitled customers need to be treated differently to make sure to keep them as loyal customers.

2 Literature Review

The aim of this work is to provide a new perspective on the construct of Psychological Entitlement under the influence of various factors. To this end, an overview of the existing literature and research in the areas of entitlement, objective and subjective physical attractiveness and consumer behaviour in the service environment is to be created. For this reason, the following chapters are structured according to these theoretical fields. First, Psychological Entitlement will be discussed, followed by an outline of the current literature on the two influential concepts.

2.1 Entitlement

“Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” - Mark Twain The above quote by Mark Twain describes the construct of the Entitlement, which research is increasingly dealing with, already very accurately. But what does Entitlement mean? The following chapter is dedicated to a definition and classification of this construct in psychological research.

2.1.1 Definitions of Entitlement

Entitlement is a measurable psychological construct. It refers to the fundamental belief that one deserves preferences, and more than others do. According to Campbell and colleagues, Psychological Entitlement is defined as a “general belief” because it can be assumed that it is consistent over time and across different situations. It can even be described as a stable individual difference (Campbell et al., 2004). Entitlement causes people to feel, think and act differently than others. Whether or not they have a right to do so is irrelevant (Zitek & Vincent, 2015). Entitlement also presents itself as a judgement of what is owed to the person concerned, based on perceived social norms in one's own environment (Feather, 2003). Twenge (2006) emphasizes the facet of narcissism within Psychological Entitlement, while Harrington (2005) focuses more on the believing that one's own desires must be fulfilled, and that other people must strive to fulfil them.

2.1.2 Entitlement and Narcissism

Entitlement has long been equated with narcissism. Even today, there is much literature that makes no distinction between these two psychological constructs. Although there are clear differences, there are still overlaps (Campbell et al. 2004). Here, the terms Entitlement and narcissism are used interchangeably, and Entitlement is understood as a characteristic of narcissism. Campbell and his colleagues, however, took a decisive step towards clearly distinguishing between the two constructs with the 2004 study on measuring Psychological Entitlement. Within psychological diagnostics, narcissism is classified as a psychological disorder that can be measured on a scale. The NPI scale (Narcissistic Personality Inventory) examines the extent to which a patient exhibits the characteristics of pathological narcissism with 40 forced choice items (Raskin & Hall, 1979). This measurement tool is based on the idea that individuals who show pathological forms of narcissism exhibit extreme forms of the characteristics defined in the NPI, while healthy individuals show only minor manifestations. In his study, Campbell and colleagues focused on distinguishing Entitlement and its measurement from narcissism on the NPI scale.

A recent study by Rose and Anastasio (2014) deals with precisely this distinction between narcissism and Psychological Entitlement. The results of the study may once again underline the distinction made by Campbell's in 2004: Entitlement can be seen as a unique personality trait that has its own interpersonal consequences and differs fundamentally from narcissism in precisely this respect. One of the main differences between both constructs is symbolised by the role other people play within each of these: Narcissists feel superiority and self-assertiveness; they themselves play the leading role, while other people only occur marginally. Entitlement, however, by definition includes other people, as entitled people “deserve more than others”. Thus, social comparison plays an important role here, as other people are necessary to create the feeling of entitlement. Consequently, Entitlement and narcissism are closely related constructs and may have diverged, but Campbell's (2004) and Rose's and Anastasio's (2014) studies show that these are two different psychological concepts that require independent treatment. The forms in which entitlement can manifest itself will be discussed in the following chapter.

2.1.3 Forms of Entitlement and its effects

Psychological Entitlement is a multi-faceted construct that can manifest itself in many areas of life. One area that deserves special mention in this context is Consumer Behaviour. Entitlement plays a decisive role especially in the service environment. In their 2011 study, Fisk and Neville examine the structure of consumer entitlement and how it affects service personnel. The service personnel interviewed stated that the entitled behaviour of customers has serious consequences for their own well-being. In most cases, such customers are actually met with increased effort and exertion. The study therefore suggests that services may help to increase entitled behaviour in service environments by serving these customers. This can lead not only to a general increase in entitlement, but also to concrete consequences for the business itself: Steward (2010) argues that the constant fulfilment of the manifold customer wishes can severely damage a company and its structures.

Boyd and Helms (2005) look at Entitlement from a marketing perspective and base their study on the assumption that exchange processes are fundamental to functioning marketing. In order to best manage this exchange, it is essential that buyers and sellers meet smoothly. Similar to Stewart, they assume that Entitlement can have a decisive influence on the consumer-seller-interaction at this point. In order to be able to deal with this appropriately, the authors develop a scale that should reliably measure Consumer Entitlement.

In addition to Fisk and Helms and Boyd, Zboja has also been involved with studies focusing on entitled consumer behaviour. In 2016, he and his colleagues published a study in which the moderating role of Consumer Entitlement was examined in terms of the relationship between service quality and perceived value in customer satisfaction. Entitled consumers and less entitled consumers differ greatly in terms of satisfaction with a service: entitled consumers measure their satisfaction against previously formulated expectations, while less entitled consumers rely on the assessment of the rebuttal. This shows that in dealing with customers distinctions have to be made depending on how entitled they feel.

Entitlement, however, is not only evident in the area of consumer-service personnel relationships. Szalkowska and colleagues (2015) focus on the manifestation of Entitlement in organisational contexts, more specific in work environments. Entitlement in the context of work refers primarily to the expectation of a reward as an appropriate compensation for one's own efforts (e.g. Feather, 2003). The authors argue that former research mainly examined the negative effects of psychological entitlement in work context. Szalkowska et al. contributed to this field by their study which shows that Entitlement can have a positive and profitable influence on organisational behaviours. Those high in Entitlement show greater “organisational citizenship behaviours” and less counterproductive work behaviours which is desirable from the employer's point of view.

At this point, the question arises as to what effects Entitlement has on society. As early as 1976, Bell spoke of the social effects that the feeling of entitlement had: the revolution of the increasing expectations of Western society was transforming itself into a drastic rise in Entitlement. Twenge's book (2006) builds on this assumption: it deals with the generational differences that become more and more apparent with the acquiring of adulthood of the commonly called millennials (born in the 80s and 90s). The so-called generation Y is described as a generation with excessive self-esteem. Research data shows that younger workers are indeed more confident than previous generations (Twenge & Campbell, 2001). It is expected that this development will be reflected in significantly higher demands in the working environment in the future (Karefalk, Petterssen, & Zhu, 2007).

2.1.4 Measuring Entitlement

Entitlement, as previously defined, is a psychological construct that describes the human personality. It can therefore be measured as such. For a long time, Entitlement was considered only as a facet of narcissism and was included in scales intended to measure it. The best-known way to measure Psychological Entitlement today is through the use of the scale developed by William Campbell. Campbell and his colleagues conducted nine studies in 2004 to develop a self-contained scale to capture Entitlement independently of narcissism. The resulting scale is called Psychological Entitlement Scale (PES). In these nine studies, researchers have been able to demonstrate that the PSE scale is unidimensional and shows internal consistency as well as validity by showing positive relationships to a number of negative personality dispositions such as dominance, hostility, scepticism, neuroticism, greed, aggression, and claiming things that belong to other people. It has also been shown that it measures in a time-stable manner. In an analysis of the Big 5, it was found that the PES scale is not redundant with any of the Big 5 factors. Nine items resulted, which can be answered on a Likert scale from 1=strong disagreement to 7=strong agreement. These items include statements such as “I demand the best because I'm worth it”. People high in Psychological Entitlement are more likely to agree with these and similar statements than those low in Entitlement. The PES has meanwhile developed into an established instrument that is widely used in research.

Since Entitlement presents itself as a construction close to narcissism, physical attractiveness must also be included as a factor here. If one studies the origin of the concept of narcissism, one finds oneself in Greek mythology, in which the young Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection. Following this legend, narcissism is defined as striving to satisfy one's own vanity. It also describes an idealised self-image. For this reason, the following chapter will address physical attractiveness and its perception.

2.2 Physical Attractiveness

“Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” - a frequently used statement which has been examined in various studies. Is physical attractiveness actually subjective? It is of decisive importance to assess the current state of research in this field, as physical attractiveness will be included as an essential variable in the study to be carried out. First, it will be explained what physical attractiveness is, how it can be measured and what social effects it can have. Subsequently, the distinction between objective and subjective attractiveness will be discussed, more specifically, self-perceived attractiveness and its effects. This section will also present measurement methods that could be used as a potential tool for the study to be carried out.

2.2.1 General Definition of physical attractiveness

Physical attractiveness describes how the physical appearance of a person is evaluated on the basis of aesthetic qualities which typically include face and body. This evaluation may be a self-assessment or an assessment by other people, or a combination of both (Fink & Penton-Voak, 2002).

Physical attractiveness has important and far-reaching consequences in the social environment. For example, it has been proven that attractive people have more dates (Riggio & Woll, 1984) than unattractive people. Beauty also leads to applicants being hired earlier after an interview (Cash et al. Kilcullen, 1985) or being convicted less quickly for crimes (Sigall & Ostrove, 1975). A study by Judge, Hurst and Simon (2009) shows that physical attractiveness can increase income prospects in the professional environment, even if the influencing factor “intelligence” is controlled. This shows that physical attractiveness plays an important role not only in the private social environment.

It is assumed that physical attractiveness is not a one-dimensional construct but is composed of several physical elements. First and foremost, a distinction can be made here between facial and body attractiveness. (Hassebrauck, 2002 ) There are a number of studies that deal with facial attractiveness. Researchers state that factors such as symmetry, luminance of certain features of the face and the characteristics of the skin play an important role in evaluating the attractiveness of a face (Gunes, 2011). It has been shown that the attractiveness of the face can indeed be associated with a higher gene quality, e.g. the general facial attractiveness can be seen as an indicator of longevity (Henderson & Anglin, 2003). Not only the attractiveness of the face, but also that of the body can demonstrably be seen as a predictor of gene quality. A classic approach here is the Waist-to-Hip ratio (WHR) for women, or Chest-to-Hip ratio (CHR) for men, which is not only used to assess attractiveness but also serves as an indicator of fertility and the likelihood of disease (Singh, 2002). In addition to WHR or CHR, the Body Mass Index (the ration weight to height) influences the perception of bodily beauty (Tovee et al. 1999).

In addition to the two facets of face and bodily attractiveness, attractiveness can also be differentiated by whether it is assessed objectively or subjectively. The aforementioned measures, such as the symmetry of the face or the use of body measurements such as BMI or WHP, are established methods for the objective recording of physical attractiveness. In addition to these mathematical methods, judges can be used to assess the attractiveness of a face. These evaluations of several judges must then be averaged in order to obtain an objective evaluation of the attractiveness (Feingold, 1990). In addition to these objective measurements, there are also methods that are intended to record the self-perception of one's own attractiveness which will be discussed in the following chapter.

2.2.2 Self-perception of physical attractiveness

Self-assessment in a wide variety of contexts often differs from an assessment by a third party. Particularly when it comes to assessing one's own physical attractiveness, many people find it difficult to make a realistic judgement. The literature contains a large number of studies dealing with body image and self-perception, especially those relating to adolescents. This evaluation of one's own physical appearance is often brought into context with self-esteem. In a 1995 study, Diener and colleagues looked at how self- and externally rated attractiveness influences self-esteem. The results indicate that self-assessment has a stronger influence on self-esteem than external assessment. This also shows that self­assessment of one's own attractiveness does not necessarily have to coincide with the perception of others. Today it is often assumed that the assessment of one's own attractiveness is mainly based on social comparison. This contrast effect can be observed not only in the evaluation of one's own attractiveness, but also in the evaluation of the physical appearance of others: One of the first studies to examine this effect was conducted by Melamed and Moss in 1975. Participants were asked to rate average-looking women and men whose pictures were presented alongside those of very attractive people. It turned out that the participants considered the people in these pictures less attractive than those presented next to unattractive pictures. This illustrates that the context plays an important role in assessing attractiveness. The study by Melamed and Moss is at the very beginning of many of this kind, which Want, 2009 summarised in a meta-analysis.

Not only objective views but also self-perception can be measured in relation to physical appearance. This is usually done on the basis of questionnaires, surveys or interviews. While some researchers use a variety of items to obtain a meaningful measurement of self-perception, others use a single question, such as Weeden and his colleagues in 2007, when they conducted a study on objective and subjective attractiveness and its relation to sexual behaviour. A well-known scale, for example, comes from Franzoi and Shields (1984), who developed the so-called Body Esteem scale with 35 items. Another way to measure self-awareness in relation to physical attractiveness is the Estimating Physical Attractiveness Scale (EPA), developed by Swami and colleagues in 2007.

As already presented, this study assumes that there is a measurable relationship between Entitlement and self-awareness of attractiveness. One of the researchers who has already dealt with a similar question is Gabriel who, in a study (1994), demonstrated that narcissistic traits in a human being fuel illusory ideas of one's own attractiveness. More than a decade later (2010) Holzman and Strube also addressed this topic: they found a reliable correlation between narcissism and attractiveness, which leads to the assumption that Entitlement, which has evolved as a concept out of narcissism, is also to some extent related to physical attractiveness. These assumptions lead to the following first hypothesis:

H1: High levels of self-perceived attractiveness predict high levels of entitlement

2.3 Consumer Expectations in Service Environments

Every human being is a consumer. We use services around the clock, even if we are not always aware of this. The quick stop at a supermarket or the simple sending of an email via common online portals - we live in a service driven economy (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016). In each of these contexts, people are consumers and have certain expectations of the service to be provided. These expectations are based on the interaction between buyer and seller, consumer and service provider. A process of exchange takes place here, which can present itself in various forms. It is essential to understand the different variants that this process can take in order to be able to deal more effectively with customers (Richins, 1983).

The evaluation of a service by a customer plays an important role for service providers. Customer retention is an elementary area of consumer management - satisfied customers become loyal customers and thus bring the company long-term profit (Lee et al. 2001). This evaluation by the consumer depends on many factors. One of the most important of these factors is the expectation that a customer creates in advance. Expectations can be seen as precursors of customer satisfaction (Yoon, Ekinci, 2003). There is a wealth of literature on how to manage customer expectations of services to satisfy them (Habel et al. 2016). Donthu and Yoo (1998) state that it is of fundamental importance to know the expectations of one's customers in order to be able to determine the minimum quality that must be offered. The well-known online delivery service Amazon meets this task, for example, by underestimating the delivery speed in advance in order to positively surprise the customer. In this way, the overall rating might be more positive because expectations have been exceeded (Ho and Zheng 2004 in Habel et al. 2016).

In a study published in 2016, Habel and colleagues examined the effect of customer expectations on service satisfaction. They concluded that expectations can initially reduce satisfaction, which can be explained by a "disconfirmation-effect". This means that customers tend to be disappointed with the service due to high expectations. In addition to this result, the researchers also found that expectations can indirectly increase satisfaction. According to Habel and colleagues, high expectations can have positive effects on customer satisfaction due to the placebo effect. A service is perceived in a more positive light from the outset, due to high expectations. This illustrates once again how important it is to engage intensively with the expectations of customers. In addition, it becomes clear that it is also worthwhile to include psychological approaches in this field of research.

Whether a customer assumes that his expectations will always be met or not depends on his personality. Personality traits can highly influence how satisfied a person is with a service. The factor “agreeableness” can be seen as a predictor for customer satisfaction (Siddiqui, 2011). The fact that a customer expects special treatment and immediate fulfilment of his or her wishes can be described as Entitlement (Boyd & Helms, 2005). Customer Expectations play a particularly important role in services in which personnel are in direct, personal contact with customers. A study by Fisk and Neville (2011) found that dealing with entitled consumers and continually fulfilling all customer requests can have serious health and well-being consequences for service personnel. The consequences of failure to meet high customer expectations could be complaints or business failure. For this reason, many companies nonetheless strive to constantly fulfil all customer wishes, which in the long term can lead to customers demanding more and more (Fisk & Neville, 2011).

A strong tendency to entitled behaviour affects the entire environment of the person concerned. Based on the study results of Helms and Boyd (2005) or Fisk (2011), who have dealt intensively with the effect of such behaviour on interactions in the service environment, the second hypothesis deals with the assumption that people who show high levels of Entitlement also have high expectations of service performance. Itis proven that Entitlement has a great impact on how consumers evaluate the service provider's behaviour (Martin et al., 2018). For example, apologies from staff are perceived differently depending on the level of the Entitlement. It is assumed that entitled consumers define their satisfaction with a service according to their previously set expectations (Zboja et al, 2016). This shows the importance of expectations in consumer-seller interaction. A study from 2012 by Siddiqui deals with personality and consumer satisfaction. The results show that personality traits such as trust and altruism can be seen as a predictor of satisfaction. Entitlement stands in stark contrast to these characteristics, which is why it is assumed that customers with high levels of Entitlement will be generally less satisfied than customers with low levels. They will therefore have higher expectations which are more difficult to meet:

H2: Individuals high in entitlement tend to have higher expectations in service environments

It should be noted that services differ from classic products in terms of their tangibility. Since they cannot be evaluated according to the same standards (haptics, appearance, service life, etc.), it is of fundamental importance to meet the expectations of the customers with regard to service itself (Clow & Vorhies, 1993). The researchers have identified the benefits of accurately and reliably capturing customer expectations for a company. There are currently a number of approaches that indicate that customer expectations and customer satisfaction can be reliably measured. Lee and colleagues (2001) cite researches such as Parasuraman (1988), Rust et al. (1995) and Zeithaml (1996), who, in order to understand customer satisfaction, have investigated the following factors in particular: What strategies can be used to meet customer expectations? And how does service quality affect profits in the long term? These researchers have focused on the process of expectation formation, the perceived quality of service and the resulting loyalty or switching of the provider.

Various methods, based on this idea, deal with the recording of service quality. The best known and most frequently used instrument is SERVQUAL, which was developed by Parasuraman and colleagues in 1988. This model consists of 22 items, each formulated differently for two different dimensions. SERVQUAL captures the general expectations of a customer on the one hand and the perception of various elements of the service of a particular company on the other hand. Both facets (expectation, (EXP) and perception (PER)) are divided into the following five factors: Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. The participants are asked to answer the respective items on a scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree). The EXP and PER facets of the questionnaire each contain the same items, which are only phrased differently. The first item on the EXP scale is “They should have up-to date equipment” whereas the equivalent on the PER scale is formulated as “XYZ has up-to date equipment”. The scores given by participants on the EXP scale are subtracted from those on the PER scale, resulting in a so- called “Gap”. Depending on the level of this Gap Score, it can be said whether a particular company meets the general expectations of its customers or not.

This model has gained a high reputation over the last three decades and is used in many different areas of the service environment. The literature also contains several adaptations and variations. With the further development of the Internet and the growth of online services, new versions of the SERVQAUL model were created, particularly in the IT area (Jiang et al. 2012). Although the original model consists of two components, there are voices that consider the independent use of the two measurements more meaningful in terms of measuring expectations and perceived performance of a service (Klein, Jiang & Cheney, 2009 cited in Jiang et al. 2012). Devaraj, Fan and Kohli (2002) or Li and colleagues (2001) used only the perception component of the SERVQUAL scale for their research on online services.

In a study evaluating the use of the SERQUAL scale in hotels, Yoon and colleagues (2003) found that expectations play a particularly important role in customer satisfaction. They indicate that the concept of expectations might be more reliable for measuring customer satisfaction than general service quality. They state that, according to their research, this can best be achieved by looking at expectations and performance independently rather than subtracting values to calculate a level of service quality. Based on these results of Yoon and Ekinci (2003), as well as on the statements of Klein, Jiang & Cheney (2009), it is assumed that the expectation scale of the SERVQUAL model can also be used independently to capture general customer expectations. This adaptation of the model will also be applied in the present study.

If the considerations on which the first two hypotheses are based are further extended, the question arises as to how all three variables relate to each other. It is assumed that expectations can be predicted by self-perceived attractiveness. However, this relationship is mediated by the level of Entitlement. The mediation model considers the impact of Entitlement, which is posited to transmit the influence of the independent variable Attractiveness onto Customer Expectations. A full mediation is assumed which is illustrated in Figure 1: the theoretical statistical models of H1 and H2 are now merged.

H3: Entitlement mediates the relationship between Attractiveness and Customer Expectations

Figure 1: Illustration Hypotheses

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

2.4 Research Questions

The goal of this paper is to examine if there is a significant relationship in the entitled behaviour of consumers and their self-perceived physical appearance. It is suggested that individuals who consider themselves as particularly attractive show higher levels of Entitlement. This assumption results in the following research question:

RQ1: To what extent does subjective attractiveness influence consumer's Psychological Entitlement?

Since, as already described, it is assumed that one's own perceived attractiveness has an influence on the behaviour of consumers, it seems evident that there is also a connection between this and the expectations that a customer has of a service. Customers differ in the origin of their satisfaction with a service. An important aspect here is the expectation previously set. Entitlement has been successfully identified as a facilitator for this relationship (Zboja et al. 2016). The second research question which should be answered in this study presents itself as follows:

RQ2: How does Psychological Entitlement influence the relationship between self­perceived attractiveness and consumer's expectation in service environments?

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