Self-perceived Authenticity is Contaminated by the Valence of One’s Behavior
Abstract: Two studies tested whether people are biased to infer that their positive actions are more authentic than their negative actions. In Study 1, participants identified a positive or negative personal characteristic and assessed the authenticity of past behavior that reflected that characteristic. In Study 2, people imagined themselves performing positive and negative behaviors that they authentically did or did not want to perform. Both studies showed that people’s judgments of the authenticity of their behavior were contaminated by their perceptions of the valence of their behavior even when the objective authenticity of the behavior was controlled. Future research must disentangle authenticity and positivity to determine the degree to which each contributes to positive outcomes that have been attributed to authenticity.
Duke Scholars
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- Social Psychology
- 5205 Social and personality psychology
- 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
- 4410 Sociology
- 1701 Psychology
- 1608 Sociology
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Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- 5205 Social and personality psychology
- 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
- 4410 Sociology
- 1701 Psychology
- 1608 Sociology