Study: ‘Entitled’ Men and Women Are More Sexist

A new study conducted by Case Western Reserve University and San Diego State University has revealed that entitled jerks are often also sexist jerks–regardless of gender.

A team of psychologists led by Case Western researcher Joshua Grubbs found that entitled men were more likely to hold hostile views of women while entitled women were more likely to view their gender as inherently weak.

“We defined entitlement using previous research on the construct,” Grubbs wrote in an email to TIME. “Essentially, entitlement is an attitude of unmerited deservingness in life.”

Grubb’s team conducted a survey asking 870 participants how much they agreed with a series of statements which measured their levels of entitlement or sexism.

To assess entitlement, researchers provided statements such as, “I demand the best, because I’m worth it,” or, “If I were on the Titanic, I would deserve to be on the first lifeboat.”

To assess sexism, the team broke up the statements into “hostile sexism” and “benevolent sexism.” Hostile sexism was measured through statements like, “Women seek to gain power by getting control over men.” Benevolent sexism included statements such as, “Women should be cherished and protected by men.”

Entitled men were more likely to agree with statements of hostile sexism while entitled women were more likely to endorse ideas consistent with benevolent sexism.

“This line of research really is fascinating,” Grubbs told TIME. “It’s also important, when you consider recent events and the examples we have seen of how dangerous entitlement and sexism can be.”