Relational entitlement moderates the associations between support matching and perceived partner responsiveness

- Excessive sense of relational entitlement (SRE) moderates support matching effects.
- The effects were reflected in daily levels of perceived partner responsiveness (PPR).
- High SRE men had higher PPR when they received matched support.
- High SRE women and men for whom support was under-provided had lower PPR.
- These effects held after adjusting for attachment anxiety and avoidance.

Support often fails to lead to beneficial results. One personality factor which may differentiate between individuals' responses to support is an excessive sense of relational entitlement (SRE; the perception of what one deserves within a romantic relationship). We examined SRE as a moderator of the association between support matching and daily perceived partner responsiveness (PPR). We found overall positive effects for support matching, negative effects for underprovision, and limited effects for overprovision. We also found that men (but not women) with an excessive SRE experienced a greater increase in their PPR when their supportive needs were met; additionally, both men and women with an excessive SRE experienced a greater decrease in PPR when their supportive needs were not met.