Entitled people feel like they deserve special treatment for reasons only known to them. However, they are often treated to a harsh lesson instead.

Redditor u/BrinkyStitches recently told the ‘Malicious Compliance’ community how she brought her entitled groupmate down a notch. The guy demanded she take care of his part of the group presentation, which she obviously refused. However, since he put his arms on her, the redditor really wanted to teach him a lesson and maliciously complied to do the work for him after all.

Some people believe they’re inherently deserving of preferential treatment, which is just not how life works

Image credits: monkeybusiness (not the actual photo)

This entitled guy demanded that his groupmate do his share of the work on a presentation, which she maliciously complied with to put him in his place

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

The OP told fellow Redditors that the story was based on real-life events

Image credits: BrinkyStitches

Gender differences in entitlement affect the way we negotiate, which might be why the guy spoke to her in such a menacing way

Image credits: davidpereiras (not the actual photo)

“You’re a woman and will do as I say”—a phrase that perfectly sums up just how entitled the gentleman in the story felt. His ways of negotiating with the groupmate were far from effective. Vice versa—his sense of self-righteousness and threatening demeanor encouraged the young woman to engage in malicious compliance.

A 2021 research covered how gender differences in entitlement reveal themselves when it comes to negotiation. It pointed out that the qualities that are usually associated with men strengthen the person’s sense of entitlement. And such a sense is believed to increase the likelihood of them trying to negotiate.

Studies have found that men who believe they’re inherently deserving of special treatment tend to have a hostile view of women. (That would explain the student’s menacing attitude toward the OP.) However, guys are not the only link between entitlement and sexism. Women add to it, too, but researchers believe their views are more benevolent rather than hostile.

The author, philosopher, and associate professor of philosophy at Cornell University, Kate Manne, discussed the links between male entitlement and their views towards women in her book “Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women.” According to The New Yorker, it suggested that men’s sense of entitlement often leads to misogynistic attitudes.

Image credits: Stanley Morales (not the actual photo)

A blooming sense of entitlement, which was already a problem when the OP was in college, now seems to be flourishing more than ever

Another study carried out in 2019 pointed out that a sense of entitlement also increases the motivation to seek status. The OP’s groupmate mentioned running for class president as one of the things standing in the way of him doing the presentation himself. It might not be the most powerful position, but it was clearly significant enough for the young man to undermine his fellow student.

Nowadays, the situation among young people seems to have gotten even worse. Psychologists believe that they are more inclined to a sense of entitlement than the previous generations. Experts point out that, in order for the situation to get better, the youth should try to be more humble and accepting of their limitations. Chances are the OP’s act of malicious compliance helped at least one young person become more humble.

Lots of people shared their reactions in the comments

Some of them had experience with group projects as well

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