Business students' perceptions of arrogance in academia

College Student Journal, March, 2007 by Perry Haan, Margaret M. Britt, Art Weinstein

Arrogance exists at some level among those in every occupation. This multi-university study assessed more than 500 business students' perceptions of arrogance in academic, business, and professional (non-business) environments. Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to compare students' views of these different occupational groups. Educators were found to be less arrogant than non-educators. Graduate business students were significantly more arrogant than undergraduate business students, college professors, non-tenured faculty, and adjunct instructors. Recommendations are made for reducing arrogance and conducting further research.

INTRODUCTION

A unique problem that has surfaced in higher education is that of arrogance. Faculty members, administrators, and college students are sometimes accused of being arrogant. Demeaning, self-serving attitudes affect everyone in an educational environment. Such attitudes can seriously negate the quality of learning both in and out of the classroom.

Webster's 21st Century Dictionary (1992, p. 15) defines arrogance as, "proud and insolent; disrespectful." People who exhibit this problem focus on themselves and their motives. Thus, they are self-serving individuals.

Arrogance has permeated American society. In the United States, arrogance is a part of the culture. Classic examples of arrogance have even been found by the actions of the last two presidents. Ryan and Boscia (2003) discussed how former President Bill Clinton used the Lewinski scandal for a "self-serving bias" (p. 123). Clinton's arrogance in this situation almost led to his downfall as President of the United States. Mackler (2002) listed arrogance as one of several character flaws that led to problems encountered by presidents Clinton and Nixon. President George W. Bush changed his justification for the Iraq War by being "pretty confident that America was going to discover a 'weapons of mass destruction program.' A program is different than actual weapons" (Moore, 2004, p. 63). This suggests a type of arrogance.

Objective of the Study

Building on a literature review, this empirical research asks business students about their perceptions of the levels of arrogance shown by faculty, administrators, and their peers at the institutions of higher education they attend. In addition, it compares their responses with their perceptions of the arrogance of other professional occupations, business and non-business related. The results and interpretation of the research follow. The article concludes with a section addressing implications and research extensions. Below are the four research questions (RQs) used to guide this investigation.

RQ1: Do business college students believe that those working in academe are more arrogant than other professionals?

RQ2: Do graduate business students differ from undergraduate business students based on their views of arrogance with respect to: a) educators, b) business professionals, and c) non-business professionals?

RQ3: Do traditional business students differ from non-traditional business students based on their views of arrogance with respect to: a) educators, b) business professionals, and c) non-business professionals?

RQ4: Are there demographic differences in how business college students perceive the arrogance of those working in academe based on: a) age, b) gender, c) ethnicity, d) geographic location, and e) school type?

Relevant Literature

Arrogance and Humility

A review of arrogance in higher education revealed that very little has been written about this phenomenon. The academic literature concerning arrogance generally puts it on the opposite end of a spectrum with humility. Humility is generally seen as a desirable trait in people and arrogance as socially undesirable (Ben-Ze'ev, 1993; Wosinska, Dabul, Whetstone-Dion, & Cialdini, 1996).

Arrogance is a sociological concept in that it is a trait that people perceive in others. It is assumed that most people do not see themselves as arrogant. People identify others as being more arrogant or more humble than they see themselves. These perceptions of arrogance or humility often come from how people handle success. Those who are successful are sometimes assumed to be arrogant just because they are successful (Juvonen, 1996; Weiner, 1994). People who attribute their success to others or to being lucky are seen as being humble. If one sees his/her success as a result of one's own self-created abilities, that person is likely to be perceived as being arrogant.

Arrogant communications indicate to others that this person sees him or herself as being better than others (Wosinska, et al., 1996). Communication that is perceived as being humble suggests that the communicator has qualities and values that are the same as most people's (Ben-Ze'ev, 1993). Hareli and Weiner (2000) described two factors that account for arrogance: the reasons why one succeeds and the desirability of those reasons. Those who attribute their success to internal, stable, desirable and uncontrollable qualities (such as intelligence or beauty) are typically seen as being arrogant (Schlenker & Leary, 1982).