State authenticity: precursors and sequelae
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Psychology
Abstract
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Organisations
Publications
Lenton A
(2016)
State Authenticity in Everyday Life
in European Journal of Personality
Lenton AP
(2014)
Identifying differences in the experience of (in)authenticity: a latent class analysis approach.
in Frontiers in psychology
Lenton AP
(2013)
How does "being real" feel? The experience of state authenticity.
in Journal of personality
Lenton AP
(2013)
I feel good, therefore I am real: testing the causal influence of mood on state authenticity.
in Cognition & emotion
Sedikides C
(2017)
State Authenticity
in Current Directions in Psychological Science
Slabu L
(2014)
Trait and State Authenticity Across Cultures
in Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
| Description | A person is said to be authentic when her or his actions reflect the "true self". Although psychologists have explored authenticity as a personality trait and developmental achievement, there is little research examining the role of authenticity in adults' everyday lives. That is, researchers have a limited understanding of authenticity as a state (i.e., as a sense of self that can change from moment to moment). We sought to redress this situation by investigating the correlates and causes of changes in people's sense of feeling "true" or "real". Our studies revealed that authenticity varies more within people than it does between people. In other words, the feeling of authenticity fluctuates significantly from day to day for most people. The results further indicated that recalled and in-situ experiences of authenticity are associated with positive emotions, low public self-consciousness, high self-esteem, and satisfaction of the need for relatedness. Accordingly, acquiring experiences of authenticity and avoiding experiences of inauthenticity are important to people. A cross-cultural study confirmed that there is substantial overlap in how people from India, China, Singapore, and the US experience authenticity and inauthenticity. Thus, state authenticity is not solely a Western phenomenon. Our experimental studies indicated that momentary mood or need-satisfaction states can change how "real" people feel at a given moment.We anticipate that our findings will contribute to an enhanced understanding of state authenticity and, in so doing, they may confer other researchers, educators, and practitioners a practical and potent means for providing guidance regarding human well-being. |
| Exploitation Route | Clinicians and laypersons alike argue for the utility of "being authentic", but this term ("authenticity") has been used in a multitude of ways and, further, has not been the subject of systematic study until very recently. Our research contributes significantly to the understanding of what authenticity is (especially in regards to the state versus trait distinction) and how state authenticity might be attained and state inauthenticity avoided. We envision that the results of our studies will be of particular use in the educational and (mental) healthcare sectors, where there is concern with advancing human growth and well-being. Advising someone to "be more authentic" is of little use if there is no common understanding of this term's meaning in the first place. |
| Sectors | Education,Healthcare,Other |
| Description | Edinburgh International Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Drs Lenton & Slabu organised a public lecture at the 2013 Edinburgh International Science Festival entitled, "The true self: What it is and how to find it". The speakers included Dr Alison Lenton, Dr Letitia Slabu (both of Edinburgh University at that time) and Dr Alex Wood (of Stirling University). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | https://issuu.com/edscifest/docs/edinburgh_science_festival_2013_brochure?e=7196024/1289887 |
| Description | Symposium Organised (European Association for Social Psychology) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | We organised a symposium entitled "Authenticity: new approaches to understanding its meaning and attainment" for the 2011 Meeting of the European Association for Social Psychology. As part of this symposium, our research team (as well as others) gave talks to other academics/researchers as follows: Lenton, A. P. Context effects on state authenticity. We also presented a poster at this conference, entitled: Causes, experiences, and consequences of state authenticity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Symposium Organised (Society for Personality and Social Psychology) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | We organised a symposium entitled "Authenticity: its meaning and attainment" for the 2013 Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. As part of this symposium, our research team (as well as others) gave talks to other academics/researchers as follows: Lenton, A. P. Need satisfaction and state authenticity. Slabu, L. The effect of mood on state authenticity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |