Environmental advocates commonly describe ecological problems as being caused, at least in part, by the psychological construct of human entitlement. Nevertheless, the concept of trait entitlement, as an individual difference variable, has not yet been considered in relation to proenvironmental attitudes and behavior. This research examined whether entitlement among young adults correlates with environmental attitudes and actions. Results showed that individuals who were high in entitlement scored lower in attitudes in favor of protecting the environment, self-reported environmental behavior, and were less likely to engage in observable environmental action by way of donating money earned from the study to an environmental cause. Conversely, those high in entitlement were more in favor of human utilization of the environment and supported geoengineering efforts. Mediation analysis showed that environmental attitude mediated the links between entitlement and both donating and conservation behavior. Together, these results highlight the role of trait entitlement as a barrier to environmentalism.
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