A nine-item scale measuring the stable personality trait of psychological entitlement — the belief that one deserves more than others, is inherently special, and is owed preferential treatment by the world. Items span general deservingness, the expectation of extra benefits, inflated self-worth, and the belief that things should naturally go one's way. One item is reverse-scored. A well-validated instrument from social and personality psychology, it has been applied in consumer research examining how entitlement shapes luxury consumption, complaint behaviour, and brand interactions.
7-point Likert
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Alpha ranged from .87 to .91 across five consumer research studies — Goor et al. (2020, web appendices E and F). A further application (Drolet et al. 2021, p. 839) reported α = .74, which falls below threshold; the scale is included on the basis of the .87–.91 range from Goor et al. One item is reverse-scored ('I do not necessarily deserve special treatment'). Original validation: Campbell et al. (2004) developed the Psychological Entitlement Scale (PES) across nine studies providing reliability, validity, and predictive evidence. The full PES has 16 items; the 9-item version used here represents a subset as applied in consumer research — researchers requiring the complete instrument should consult the original.
Campbell, W. Keith, Angelica M. Bonacci, Jeremy Shelton, Julie J. Exline, and Brad J. Bushman (2004). Psychological entitlement: Interpersonal consequences and validation of a self-report measure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 83(1), 29–45.
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