Rules for Thee, But Not for Me: The Role of Entitlement and Perception of Fairness in Decision Making

On Monday, The Atlantic published a major article about national security leaders using Signal to communicate about war plans. The author, Jeffrey Goldberg, was somehow added to this high-level group chat. He wrote, “What I will say, in order to illustrate the shocking recklessness of this Signal conversation, is that the Hegseth post contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.”This raises a deeply interesting psychological question: Why do people break rules, even when the consequences are serious?In today’s Coffee Break, Ashley and I dig into the psychology of how rule breaking and entitlement can be related—including a study on why some people refuse to follow instructions, even when doing so is easy and beneficial. What leads some people to resist rules and precedent? And how can understanding this help us in our daily lives?☕ Grab a cup—we're breaking down a big idea in 10 minutes or less.~ Ashley & AlexIf you are in crisis or need immediate support and are in the U.S., you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text 'HOME' to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line. If you are outside the U.S., please seek out local crisis services.If you are interested in coaching or counseling, please feel free to visit our practice, Gainesville Psychology GroupKeywords: breaking rules, entitlement, mindset, why people break rules, perception, Atlantic, decision-making, authority, review of the news Get full access to The Colors of Failure: Resilience Through Our Stories at thecolorsoffailure.substack.com/subscribe