Date of Award

8-1-2022

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School/Department

Department of Psychology

Program

Psychology (Masters)

Content Description

1 online resource (iv, 50 pages)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Sylvia Roch

Committee Members

Ho Kwan Cheung

Keywords

Agency, Communion, Entitlement, Obligation, Autonomy (Psychology), Duty, Entitlement attitudes, College students, Social psychology

Subject Categories

Psychology

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate whether there persists a gender difference between men and women regarding agency and communion, and whether agency and communion mediate the relationships between gender and two dependent variables of interest: entitlement and obligation. One hundred seventy-seven undergraduate students rated themselves on the following measures: Agency and Communion Scale (Roch, Ciancetta, and Mishra, 2019), Psychological Entitlement Scale (Campbell et al., 2004) and Felt Obligation Measure (Eisenberger et al., 2001), assessed on both the supervisor and organization level. Results suggested that women scored significantly higher than men in communion. Gender differences were not significant for scores on agency, entitlement, and obligation. Communion was positively related to entitlement, obligation felt towards supervisor, and obligation felt towards organization. Communion mediated the relationship between gender and entitlement yet did not mediate the relationship between gender and either type of obligation. Agency did not mediate the relationship between gender and entitlement. Agency also did not mediate the relationship between gender and obligation. The study results highlight that women persist on scoring higher on communion than men; that communion is essential in the context of examining both entitlement and obligation.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS