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Authenticity: Psychological Perspectives and Operationalizations

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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

Synonyms

Authentic functioning; Self-congruence

Definition

The term “authenticity” derives from the Greek word “authentes” (αὐϑέντης): “one acting on one’s own authority.” In common language, being “authentic” is often referred to as “being oneself,” thus implying living congruently with one’s true Self. Therefore the term typically refers to the degree to which a person acts congruently with their own Self, their inner dispositions, their values and beliefs. However, a clear and univocal definition is lacking, creating a certain degree of confusion in literature pertaining to authenticity and difficulties in conducting research on the topic (Harter 2002; Hicks et al. 2019). The concept has a long philosophical and psychological history, as many authors have reflected on matters pertaining to authenticity: from ancient Greek philosophers, to existentialists such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Heidegger above all, to psychologists such as Winnicott (1965) and Kohut (1978) in a...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Milano–Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Matilde Nicolotti & Maria Elena Magrin

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  1. Matilde Nicolotti
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  2. Maria Elena Magrin
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Correspondence to Matilde Nicolotti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy

    Filomena Maggino

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  1. Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Marco Fattore

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Nicolotti, M., Magrin, M.E. (2021). Authenticity: Psychological Perspectives and Operationalizations. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_104669-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_104669-1

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