Superego Aspects of Entitlement (In Rigid Characters)

Dynamic conflict among feelings of entitlement, defectiveness, and deprivation is discussed from the perspective of superego defense against dangerously aggressive (and sexual) wishes. These negative feelings and negative self-images are exploited so as to appease the superego in the face of one's hostile aggression: that one is justified, that there are extenuating circumstances for one's hatred and destructiveness. The "oral" clamor of deprivation and entitlement, together with dependency, submissiveness, and defensive uncertainty, serve a screening function for hostile aggressive wishes, from any developmental level. Typically, attitudes of entitlement are contradictory, unclear, and wavering, because of conflict between differing ego ideal images, and conflict between superego, and ego and id, about the sadistic extractiveness in these attitudes. Attitudes of entitlement are contributed to by past trauma, deprivation, abuse, teasing overtimulation coupled with neglect, or alternating indulgence and deprivation, as well as identification with certain parental attitudes—exploitation and extractiveness—and denial of the need for the superego to asses reality accurately.