If You Notice These 11 Behaviors, You're Dealing With An Entitled Person
They feel entitled to everyone's time, space, and energy.
Kmpzzz | Shutterstock Many innately entitled people don't make good partners, friends, or loved ones, because they're so busy inflating their own ego and defending their positive self-image that they struggle with taking accountability and supporting others. Like a study from the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology suggests, many entitled people create conflict and spark hostility wherever they go, so it's impossible to ignore their toxic behaviors.
From shifting blame to avoiding vulnerability, if you notice these behaviors, you're dealing with an entitled person. Even though their lack of maturity, security, and support can feel like a personal attack, entitlement is often an innate personal trait that's hard to unlearn. Setting boundaries and walking away might be the best option, but everyone's relationships and connections look wildly different.
If you notice these 11 behaviors, you're dealing with an entitled person
1. They set unrealistic expectations for others
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Regardless of their actual merit, intelligence, or support for others, like a study from the Journal of Personality Assessment suggests, entitled people believe that they're deserving of whatever they want without reservation or complaint.
Whether that's constant validation from a partner, the perfect job without work, or personal development without change, they expect people to work for them and for life to place their wishes directly into their laps. This is part of the reason why entitled people tend to set high expectations for the people around them: they expect other people to do everything they can to meet their needs, even when they're essentially impossible.
2. They get mad when you're not available
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Entitled people feel entitled to your time, energy, and space 24/7, even if you have other things going on and prioritizes in your life. They expect other people to always put their needs first, often punishing them when they don't receive the attention or validation they need to survive.
Many entitled people are also innately manipulative. When they don't get the constant attention and validation that they believe they deserve, they punish others using tactics like the silent treatment or blame-shifting. Their manipulative tactics to get what they want aren't always obvious, like mental health consultant Jamie Cannon argues, but they are harmful — ruining relationships and sparking disconnection.
3. They seek praise for the bare minimum
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Whether it's interrupting to seek attention, bragging for attention, or trying to exaggerate their accomplishments to spark envy, many entitled people can't help not being in the spotlight. They seek praise and external validation constantly, even for doing the bare minimum.
Rather than acknowledging other people's struggles and success, they hyper-focus on their own, living their lives in the view of other people's opinions and attention. When people don't offer them the praise or attention they demand, they ostracize them and blame-shift, making other people feel like they're the perpetrators of harm for setting boundaries and protecting their energy.
4. They complain about fairness
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Considering they view themselves as the center of the universe — and expect everyone else to do the same — minor inconveniences and struggles are personal attacks for entitled people. They complain about things "not being fair" when things don't go their way, even if it's something as simple as missing a bus in the morning or having a bad meal.
Of course, they're not talking about true fairness or equity in the world, but rather their own discomfort, convenience, and struggle.
5. They're rude to service workers
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According to psychologist Reena B. Patel, many people tend to lash out at service workers to cope with their own internal emotional turmoil, stress, and anxiety. They lack the emotional regulation skills to channel that frustration and internal chaos into other habits or activities, so it ends up being directed toward innocent strangers.
Of course, entitled people also believe that they're inherently better than everyone else and more deserving of basic respect, effort, and energy. This misguided egocentric attitude and social hierarchy they've crafted in their minds is part of the reason why they're rude and condescending to service workers. So, if you notice any of these behaviors, that could be a sign that you're dealing with an entitled person.
6. They don't express gratitude
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Many entitled people struggle with expressing gratitude and often lack basic manners like saying "please" and "thank you" to others. They expect everything from everyone all of the time without reservation; they feel entitled to other people's time, energy, material things, and effort.
Considering that expressing gratitude makes people happier and bolsters their relationship fitness, like Harvard Health experts suggest, it's not surprising that entitled people fall into cycles of disappointment, resentment, and disconnection with their loved ones and partners.
7. They cross boundaries and break rules
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Many entitled people believe that the rules and regulations that police others aren't meant to apply to them. They believe they should get special treatment and privileges, whether it's in their personal relationships or in environments like the workplace.
Even though it erodes the relationship's well-being and trust with their loved ones, they often overlook and disrespect boundaries to get what they want, believing that they're entitled to people's energy, time, effort, and space without reservation.
Like therapist Emily Whitish explains, many entitled people use subtle and unsuspecting behaviors to get what they want at first — eroding boundaries and testing people's willingness to overlook them without even realizing it. That's why it's so important to recognize some of these larger behaviors and be stern with your expectations for the future.
8. They interrupt often
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While there are certainly a lot of nuances to interruptions in conversations and their influence on social dynamics, like a Stanford report suggests, they generally make people feel unheard. When someone consistently interrupts you in a conversation, they're essentially telling you that they don't appreciate or respect your space in a social interaction, which can be telling of their entitlement.
They need all the attention to be on them, so they don't mind cutting people off and interrupting to make their voice heard, even at the expense of their relationships.
9. They show up late
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Having a strong support system full of reliable people that you can trust is fundamental to personal mental health and wellness, according to a study from Frontiers in Psychology. That's why entitled behaviors like showing up late and cancelling at the last minute are so obvious and hurtful — they erode the trust, mutual respect, and empathy necessary to sustain healthy connections.
If you notice these behaviors — or any generally unreliable signs, like breaking promises or making excuses to disrespect other people's time — you're dealing with an entitled person who finds ways to justify their poor behavior for their own comfort and convenience.
10. They blame other people
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Like psychologist Guy Winch argues, many people who can't psychologically handle being wrong or who are vehemently trying to protect their own ego will avoid taking accountability in their daily lives. Whether it's apologizing for hurting someone's feelings or taking responsibility for a missed project at work, they'll do anything to avoid putting themselves in the face of perceived failure.
From victim mentalities, to false apologies, blaming others, and general avoidance, if you notice these behaviors, you're dealing with an entitled person who believes they can do no wrong.
11. They struggle with compromise
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According to relationship therapist Robert Taibbi, healthy relationships are all about balance — the "give and take" between partners and their ability to compromise. Without compromise, there's almost always one person taking control, overlooking their partner's needs, and contributing to a sense of disconnection and resentment.
Entitled people, who believe they're more deserving of basic respect, control, and support than others, tend to bulldoze like this in their relationships, struggling with compromise and putting themselves first. They craft more conflict in their connections because their partners almost always feel overlooked, dismissed, and unheard.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
