Enraged, Rattled, and Wronged: Entitlement's Response to Social Progress

Product Description
Psychological entitlement, or a sense that some individuals or groups are inherently worthier of certain privileges, is an overlooked but essential feature of the persistent inequality that resists social progress and oppresses those in the margins. In the political climate that gave rise to
and resulted in Donald Trump's presidency, confusion, rage, and feelings of victimization linger among those who felt empowered by the validation felt with him into office--feelings that existed and will continue to exist independently of the former president himself.
Enraged, Rattled, and Wronged confronts psychological entitlement in its many forms or related attributes, such as narcissism, to expose the ugly truths at the heart of this phenomenon. In exploring how members of advantaged groups come to understand their belief in their own worthiness relative to
those in disadvantaged groups, expert psychologist Kristin J. Anderson channels her research and expertise in prejudice and discrimination to ask critical questions of the current political and social climate. What happens to entitled people when they feel pushed aside? How does their inflated sense
of deservingness make them vulnerable to manipulation by the demagogues who use them, blinding them to the negative outcomes that are often paradoxical? What are they willing to tear down as they scramble to keep their grip on the status and power they believe are rightfully theirs? How has entitled
rage played out historically, and how do these events lend themselves to both the predictable and unpredictable manifestations of power grabs that we see now?
Drawing from a wealth of timely examples and empirical literature, Anderson situates this anger as backlash against the social progress that empowers marginalized groups, even at the expense of the dominant group, if necessary. Citing historical moments such as the rage of whites directed at newly
freed African Americans in the South during Reconstruction and the anger of the entitled when women have attempted to control their reproduction, Anderson traces this phenomenon over time and delineates the link between individual-level processing of psychological deservingness and macro-level
problems that impede equality, concluding with a call for action for to dominant group members to join the vibrant movements for social progress that have emerged in recent years.
Review
"Donald Trump may soon be history. But the mental legacy his presidency leaves behind will be with us for a long time. More than any president before, he stimulated that affect so central to contemporary social struggles: entitlement.
Enraged, Rattled, and Wronged brilliantly and exceedingly
illuminates for us how members of previously privileged communities transform their feelings of loss, deprivation, and disadvantage into resentment and resistance to social progress. A study at the cutting edge of a pressing question of our times." -- Sabine Hark, Chair of Gender Studies, Technische
Universität Berlin, Germany
"Kristin Anderson's
Enraged, Rattled, and Wronged could not be timelier and more needed. As our society moves toward greater inclusivity and social justice, authoritarian and hate movements have become more emboldened. In her outstanding book, Anderson explains the psychology of privilege and
entitlement based on being white, male, heterosexual, and wealthy. Her book is accessible for general audiences and well suited for use in classrooms." -- Campbell Leaper, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
"What a timely and important book. This well-researched and deep analysis of entitlement as a major psychological concept to understand persistent and sometimes violent social inequities in the US and globally is much needed. Anderson draws on decades of social science research to show how parents,
teachers, peers, and media socialize specific groups to feel a strong sense of entitleme