Living Authentically in the Face of Death: Predictors of Autonomous Motivation Among Individuals Exposed to Chronic Mortality Cues Compared to a Matched Community Sample

Despite research demonstrating positive outcomes of conscious death reflection, very little research directly examines a core proposition of existential psychologists-that death reflection provides an opportunity for more authentic living. The current study compared individuals chronically exposed to genuine mortality cues (funeral/cemetery workers, n = 107) to a matched control sample (n = 121) on autonomous motivation. It also assessed the moderating role of six constructs implicated in growth-oriented processing of death reflection: psychological flexibility, curiosity, neutral death acceptance, death anxiety, approach-oriented coping, and avoidant coping. Funeral/cemetery workers were significantly higher on autonomous motivation, and death-related work was found to have a more positive association with autonomous motivation for those higher on flexibility and lower on death anxiety. This has implications for both understanding which individuals are most likely to experience growth motivations when confronting death, and potential avenues for facilitating these motivations to enhance well-being.

Liking Predicts Judgments of Authenticity in Real-Time Interactions More Robustly Than Personality States or Affect

We conducted three studies involving small group interactions (N = 622) that examined whether Big Five personality states, affect, and/or liking predict judgments of others' authenticity. Study 1 (n = 119) revealed that neither self-rated personality states nor affect predicted other-rated authenticity. Instead, other-rated liking was the only predictor of other-rated authenticity. Study 2 (n = 281) revealed that other-rated personality states and affect were significant predictors of other-rated authenticity, but other-rated liking was a more important factor in predicting other-rated authenticity than specific behaviors or affect. Based on these results, Study 3 (n = 222) examined whether experimental manipulation of likability had a causal effect on other-ratings of authenticity. Likable actors were indeed judged as more authentic. Together, this suggests that we judge people we like as more authentic and that likability may be more important than the "objective" content of behavior.

Masquerading their way to authenticity: Does age stigma concealment benefit older women?

As women age they can be subject to both sexism and ageism, and consequently be stereotyped as low in competence and irrelevant despite having a relatively young subjective age. Drawing on theories of stigma, we conducted a survey study of older women (N = 184) with a strong interest in fashion and their visual image. We used template thematic analysis to understand their experiences in relation to their age-changed appearance. Two major themes were identified: unfavourable experiences of ageism and efforts to evade these experiences through attention to appearance. Our participants employed masquerade to conceal or reduce the visible evidence of their age-both to avoid ageism and to align their outward appearance more closely with their inner, felt, authentic selves. We interrogate the benefits and penalties of concealment for a group whose stigmatised condition is dynamic, changing as their appearance grows increasingly dissimilar to societally favoured youthfulness. Masquerade may for this group of women produce more positive than negative outcomes, via effects on felt authenticity.

A Self-Presentational Account of Entitlement: Entitlement Relates to Strategically Portraying Entitled Identities

Although entitlement is important for understanding antisocial behavior, personality dysfunction, and personality malevolence, little evidence exists on how entitlement relates to processes that could theoretically maintain and cultivate it. In line with a self-presentation conceptualization, we speculated that entitlement probably entails the cultivation and maintenance of various identities that generally occasion better treatment from audiences. This self-presentation conceptualization of entitlement has rarely been tested, and the evidence is inconclusive. To provide a more conclusive test, participants (N = 247) completed self-report indices of 6 entitlement features—from three different multidimensional models—and self-reported their past use of various self-presentation tactics. These self-presentation tactics are used to convey distinct identities (e.g., accomplished, threatening, superior) that generally garner better treatment from audiences. Exploratory factor analysis suggested the 6 entitlement indicators were composed of a single entitlement factor; generally, consistent with the self-presentation conceptualization, this entitlement factor related to more use of all the self-presentation tactics except benevolent tactics (apologies and exemplification) and supplication. Moreover, each entitlement indicator showed an approximately similar pattern of relations to the self-presentation tactics, suggesting they all share a similar approach to self-presentation. Hence, the findings are consistent with conceptualizing entitlement and its various features as including the strategic maintenance of identities that should occasion entitled treatment; such findings may have implications for understanding the foundations of entitlement.

Supplemental materials are available here: https://files.press.uillinois.edu/journals/supplemental/ajp/hart/index.html

Authenticity as Best-Self: The Experiences of Women in Law Enforcement

Law enforcement poses a difficult work environment. Employees’ wellbeing is uniquely taxed in coping with daily violent, aggressive and hostile encounters. These challenges are compounded for women, because law enforcement remains to be a male-dominated occupational context. Yet, many women in law enforcement display resilience and succeed in maintaining a satisfying career. This study explores the experience of being authentic from a best-self perspective, for women with successful careers in the South African police and traffic law enforcement services. Authenticity research substantiates a clear link between feeling authentic and experiencing psychological wellbeing. The theoretical assumption on which the study is based holds that being authentic relates to a sense of best-self and enables constructive coping and adjustment in a challenging work environment. A qualitative study was conducted on a purposive sample of 12 women, comprising 6 police officers and 6 traffic officers from the Western Cape province in South Africa. Data were gathered through narrative interviews focussing on experiences of best-self and were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. During the interviews, participants predominantly described feeling authentic in response to work-related events of a conflictual and challenging nature. Four themes were constructed from the data to describe authenticity from a best-self perspective for women in the study. These themes denote that the participating women in law enforcement, express feeling authentic when they present with a mature sense of self, feel spiritually congruent and grounded, experience self-actualisation in the work–role and realign to a positive way of being. Women should be empowered towards authenticity in their world of work, by helping them to acquire the best-self characteristics needed for developing authenticity.

A Short Version of the Kernis-Goldmanauthenticity Inventory: Adaptation in Russia

Aim. The first psychometric verification of the Kernis-Goldman Authenticity Inventory, which includes 45 statements and four scales in the initial version, such as Awareness, Unbiased processing, authentic Behavior, and Relational orientation, was carried out in Russia. The questionnaire was developed within the framework of the existential paradigm of personality psychology. Procedure and method. The study involved 704 respondents (144 male, 559 female, aged 17 to 32 years). To check the convergent validity, the Authenticity scale (subscales: Authentic living, Acceptance of external influence, and Self-Alienation) and the single-scale Moscow authenticity scale were used. Confirmatory factor analysis, parametric and nonparametric statistical methods were used. Results and conclusion. During the adaptation, the Authenticity inventory was reduced to 32 points (per 8 in each of the scales), in order to keep the original factor structure. It was found that the Relational orientation score is higher in females, and Awareness is higher in males. It was also found that the indicators of the adapted questionnaire positively correlate with the scores of Authentic living and the Moscow authenticity scale, and negatively — with the scores of Acceptance of external influence and Self-alienation. The study showed the structural and convergent validity of the Russian-language version of the questionnaire. The new tool can be recommended for evaluating the effectiveness of various interventions and for research.

Stuck in an Existential Quagmire: The Role of Perceived True Self-Knowledge in Client Stuckness

Introduction: Research suggests that perceived true self-knowledge is important for well-being. However, less discussion exists about how perceived true self-knowledge affects therapy outcomes. We suggest that perceived true self-knowledge may be important when attempting to address client stuckness (i.e., lack of progress in therapy; Beaudoin, 2008). We argue that when clients perceive a lack of true self-knowledge, they are unable to draw upon the true self-concept as a source of meaning. This may hinder therapeutic progress and contribute to client stuckness.

Methods: We present theoretical evidence for the role of perceived true self-knowledge in experiences of stuckness. Then, we present case studies of two stuck clients and their therapeutic interventions as preliminary evidence for our model.

Results: Direct strategies geared at enhancing true self-knowledge by helping the client construct coherent self-concepts worked for one client, but not for the other. Indirect strategies, grounded in social psychological research, are outlined as a method of enhancing perceptions of true self-knowledge for clients who do not benefit from direct strategies.

Discussion: Potential moderators for the effectiveness of direct versus indirect strategies to enhance true self-knowledge are discussed. We then outline promising avenues for future research that include attempts to investigate the prevalence of self-alienation in clinical populations, and the effectiveness of strategies aimed at enhancing perceived true self-knowledge among clients experiencing stuckness.

The Authenticity of the Others: How Teammates’ Authenticity Relates to Our Well-Being

Although prior research has linked being authentic to individual well-being, little is known about authenticity’s external effects, that is, whether being around those who are authentic is good or bad for us. Integrating authenticity research and social penetration theory, we propose that others’ authenticity facilitates a number of positive intra- and interpersonal processes. Using a sample of 715 employees nested in 109 teams working for a nonprofit organization, we found that teammate authenticity relates positively to focal employees’ work engagement and negatively to their emotional exhaustion. While teammate authenticity explained incremental validity in both outcomes beyond the focal employee’s self-authenticity, it did not moderate the link from self-authenticity to well-being. Thus, instead of further facilitating beneficial intra-individual processes, being around authentic teammates seems to trigger distinct beneficial (social) processes that are neglected when focusing merely on the authenticity of the individual employee.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Authenticity: Novel Insights Into a Valued, Yet Elusive, Concept

Authenticity is generally believed to play an important role in our daily lives. Empirical research thus far has made progress in understanding the nature of this important construct. We identify four broad conclusions about authenticity based on this research: (a) People value authenticity in their own behavior and other domains (e.g., life experiences, consumer products), (b) Self-reports of personal authenticity are linked to psychological well-being, (c) People generally believe authentic, or “true,” selves are morally good, and (d) Authenticity judgments are guided by cognitive tendencies related to psychological essentialism. Despite this progress, many basic questions about authenticity remain unresolved including (a) What is the best way to define the construct? (b) Why do people care so much about whether something or someone is authentic? and (c) Why is personal authenticity so strongly related to psychological well-being? This special issue presents articles aimed to shed light on some of these basic questions. Although each of the articles offers a unique perspective to understanding authenticity, these collections of articles provide a generative framework to help researchers continue to explore this elusive construct.