A Compassionate Self Is a True Self? Self-Compassion Promotes Subjective Authenticity

Theory and research converge to suggest that authenticity predicts positive psychological adjustment. Given these benefits of authenticity, there is a surprising dearth of research on the factors that foster authenticity. Five studies help fill this gap by testing whether self-compassion promotes su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality & social psychology bulletin 2019-09, Vol.45 (9), p.1323-1337
Main Authors: Zhang, Jia Wei, Chen, Serena, Tomova Shakur, Teodora K., Bilgin, Begüm, Chai, Wen Jia, Ramis, Tamilselvan, Shaban-Azad, Hadi, Razavi, Pooya, Nutankumar, Thingujam, Manukyan, Arpine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adjustment
Authenticity
Fear & phobias
Optimism
Psychological theories
Self compassion
Self esteem
Studies
Sympathy
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Summary:Theory and research converge to suggest that authenticity predicts positive psychological adjustment. Given these benefits of authenticity, there is a surprising dearth of research on the factors that foster authenticity. Five studies help fill this gap by testing whether self-compassion promotes subjective authenticity. Study 1 found a positive association between trait self-compassion and authenticity. Study 2 demonstrated that on days when people felt more self-compassionate, they also felt more authentic. Study 3 discovered that people experimentally induced to be self-compassionate reported greater state authenticity relative to control participants. Studies 4 and 5 recruited samples from multiple cultures and used a cross-sectional and a longitudinal design, respectively, and found that self-compassion predicts greater authenticity through reduced fear of negative evaluation (Study 4) and heightened optimism (Study 5). Across studies, self-compassion’s effects on authenticity could not be accounted for by self-esteem. Overall, the results suggest that self-compassion can help cultivate subjective authenticity.
ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/0146167218820914