Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Social Psychology

New psychology research uncovers a core feature of authenticity

by Vladimir Hedrih
November 4, 2022
in Social Psychology

[Subscribe to PsyPost Premium to enjoy an ad-free experience! Click here to sign up.]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A new series of nine studies proposes that realness, the propensity to act in accordance with how one feels regardless of consequences, may be a distinct psychological trait. The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality.

Being real means behaving on the outside the way one feels on the inside, without regard for personal or social consequences. It stands in contrast to “being fake” and this distinction becomes particularly important in a world, as authors state, “awash in ‘fake news’,” where “citizens are routinely manipulated by politicians who do not mean what they say” and where “social media platforms incentivize virtue signaling and punish straightforwardness.”

In the studies of individual differences, realness has been linked to psychological health and regarded as a principal outcome of healthy development and effective psychotherapy. Personality researchers distinguish between the true vs. false self, considering the former a manifestation of a healthy personality.

Realness also has its downsides. These downsides are the primary reason why people often censor what they say or how they behave. People often regret having revealed how they truly feel during particularly emotional moments and social tact often involves holding back in situations when revealing true emotions would be inconsiderate or inappropriate. In the political sphere, realness can sometimes garner support, but also sow divisions at a broader level. But, is realness something that varies within the same individual over time or a lasting and stable behavioral tendency?

In order to answer this question, professor Dr. Christopher J. Hopwood and his colleagues devised and conducted a series of nine studies that included large samples of undergraduate students, MTurk workers and a smaller sample from the general population of Germany. They aimed to study various aspects of realness, including its relationship to other psychological traits such as authenticity and basic personality traits, its temporal stability, whether it can be observed in dyadic behavior, and whether it can predict responses of a person in situations that bear potential personal or social costs.

To produce assessments of realness they created the 12-item Realness Scale (RS). They tested it in the scope of these studies both as a self-report measure and in the form where others rated the realness of a person using the scale. In the final study, they created a German version of the scale and examined its associations with a number of different personality assessment on a sample from the general population of Germany.

The results supported the idea that realness can be considered a distinct personal trait. It was shown to be related to other personality concepts such as authenticity, likeability and agreeableness, but sufficiently different from them. It was a highly stable trait that can be reliably observed in interpersonal behavior. When asked to compare (fictional) ‘real’ and ‘polite’ friends that are equally likeable, participants rated the ‘real’ friend as less agreeable than the ‘polite’ one. Authors conclude that “this finding supports our contention that a critical element of being real involves the ability to be disagreeable at times.”

This study helped define the concept of realness and identify its associations with other, more well-studied, personality traits. However, authors note that broader generalizability of the findings requires further study as these series of studies was done exclusively on so-called WEIRD samples (White, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic). Future studies should also explore the possibility that even within the WEIRD countries people with different backgrounds or specific groups might exhibit different levels of realness.

The study, “Realness is a core feature of authenticity”, was authored by Christopher J. Hopwood, Evan W. Good, Alytia A. Levendosky, Johannes Zimmermann, Daniela Dumat, Eli J. Finkel, Paul E. Eastwick, and Wiebke Bleidorn.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin15Send
Previous Post

Longitudinal study identifies reactivity to marital discord as an important predictor of depression

Next Post

The lyrics to your date’s favorite song may provide clues to their attachment style

STAY CONNECTED

Find these awesome psychology shirts and more at the PsyPost Store!

TRENDING

New psychology research pinpoints personality traits related to wealth accumulation

New study examines how parental phubbing behavior fuels cell phone addiction in junior high school students

Study finds meditation retreats can lead to profound changes in consciousness

Subjective age bias: Psychologists uncover a fascinating historical trend

The role of nightmare distress in adolescents with psychiatric disorders

Landmark study challenges century-old neuroscience paradigm: Brain shape might trump connectivity

RECENT

Did Donald Trump influence bias-based bullying in schools?

Brief online art viewing can reduce negative mood and anxiety

Study finds meditation retreats can lead to profound changes in consciousness

Psychology experiment reveals the impact of anxious nonverbal behavior on job interview ratings

New study highlights the important role of psychological distance on embarrassment

Climate change trauma has real impacts on cognition and the brain, wildfire survivors study shows

Unemployed individuals who have used classic psychedelics report more symptoms of psychological distress

New study examines how parental phubbing behavior fuels cell phone addiction in junior high school students

Currently Playing

New psychology research reveals the “bullshit blind spot”

New psychology research reveals the “bullshit blind spot”

New psychology research reveals the “bullshit blind spot”

Cognitive Science
Higher prenatal testosterone exposure is linked to Machiavellianism and psychopathy, study suggests

Higher prenatal testosterone exposure is linked to Machiavellianism and psychopathy, study suggests

Dark Triad
New study identifies perceived mattering as a core psychological component of happy marriages

New study identifies perceived mattering as a core psychological component of happy marriages

Relationships and Sexual Health
Childhood adversity associated with increased emotional response to others’ suffering in adulthood

Childhood adversity associated with increased emotional response to others’ suffering in adulthood

Mental Health
New study sheds light on cognitive mechanisms linked to hypnosis

Chronic intake of refined carbohydrates between meals is associated with decreased cognitive performance, study finds

Cognitive Science
Mindfulness might hinder prosocial behavior among individuals with high intelligence

Mindfulness might hinder prosocial behavior among individuals with high intelligence

Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.