Authentic Self Research Articles

Decolonial identities in the leadership coaching space: against neoliberal leader identity regulation.

The study uses the decolonial lens to disrupt the contentious dominance of whiteness in leadership development, not to mention in coaching, in management and organization studies (MOS). It contributes insights into how a decolonizing coaching space enables and guides a coachee to reflect and rethink the navigation of the realities of her decolonial identity. The decolonial identity encapsulates the authentic self and the neoliberal identity is the plastic self in a neoliberal university context. Universities' pervasive and normalized neoliberal discourse has become a "paradigm"-the overarching worldview through which universities' visions, missions, strategic objectives, and values are constructed. For academics to thrive in their performance and "walk on water" in achieving performance targets, they ought to embrace being academic capitalists, which shapes idealized neoliberal identities-conforming identities, complicit in undermining social, economic, and epistemic justice. Qualitative research methods were utilized to conduct a reflexive study, and data collected from the reflections and reflexive dialogues in leadership development coaching sessions and journals were thematically analyzed. The study reveals that the coach and coachee's shared decolonial identity offered counter-narratives that unmask the dominant great "white" man leadership in organizations. It also illuminates insights into the significance of black feminist pedagogy in the coaching process to honor the coachee's decolonial identity and rich cultural experiences. It enabled her to explore them critically and derive meanings from developing decolonizing, critically conscious leadership strategies for emerging transformation challenges. Meaningful dialogue dimensions emerged, which served as lenses that steered a decolonial approach in supporting the coachee to reflect and rethink the leadership performance vision, strategic objectives, action plans, implementation, and monitoring.

“But I Am a Runner”: Trying to Be a Rogerian Person-Centered Practitioner With an Injured Athlete

This reflective case study presents the experience of a trainee sport and exercise psychologist during a period of applied consultancy with an injured runner. This was the trainee’s first consultancy experience attempting to practice from a Rogerian/classic person-centered perspective. As a trainee, his sport psychology delivery process followed academic and professional training models. After identifying an incongruence relating to the client’s identity as a runner, Rogers’s rejection of formulation and intervention led to tensions. Drawing on sport and counseling psychology literature to guide reflection and approach, maintaining a relationship between client and practitioner consistent with Rogers’s necessary conditions of change was the intervention. The trainee’s reflections consider being challenged by conflicts between philosophy and training requirements, their limited practice experience, and responding to the client during sessions that sometimes felt inconsistent with person-centered principles. Ultimately, the client reported moving toward being a more authentic self by contextualizing running as only one aspect of their life.

Navigating virtual selves: validation of the German version of the presentation of online self scale.

The Presentation of Online Self Scale for Adults (POSSA), originally developed by Strimbu et al. is a well-regarded instrument for assessing online self-presentation. This study evaluated the factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the German adaptation of POSSA. A CFA analysis confirmed a satisfactory fit for the proposed three-factor model, as evidenced by a CFI of 0.919, a TLI of 0.902 and a RSMEA of 0.075. The subscales of the German POSSA demonstrated high internal consistency. Additionally, convergent validity was established through significant correlations with the Impostor-Profile 30 (IPP), affirming the interpretive accuracy of the subscale scores. Specifically, the Adaptable Self and Freedom of Self Online subscales positively correlated with IPP measures of Alienation and Other-Self-Divergence, whereas the Authentic Self subscale inversely correlated with these measures. Moreover, the German POSSA scores accounted for variance in the number of Instagram followers, surpassing the predictive power of self-esteem alone. Notably, the Adaptable Self factor was positively associated with the follower count, while the Freedom of Self Online factor displayed a negative association. Collectively, these findings underscore the DE-POSSA as a robust tool for assessing self-presentation behaviors in German-speaking populations and highlight its potential for cross-cultural research in online interpersonal interactions.

Implementation of Servant Leadership at “X” Christian High School in Surabaya

Servant leadership is a leadership approach that requires leaders to understand and meet their followers’ needs. During the pandemic, the learning process occurred remotely, requiring educational leadership that understands the difficulties faced by both teachers and students. This study examines how leaders and teachers understand and implement servant leadership in the learning process through a consultative project involving leaders, teachers, and students through interviews and questionnaires. The author used the Servant Leadership Behaviour Scale (SLBS) as a theoretical basis and statement items for 246 students. This research used ’mixed methods’ by combining qualitative and quantitative data. The author found the understanding of Servant Leadership in the leaders and teachers, including listening, serving by example, empathising, and cooperating to achieve common goals. Then, its application included listening, serving what’s needed, building relationships, inviting followers to think about the organisation, sparing time, paying attention to spirituality and morality, accepting criticism, and admitting mistakes. The SLBS dimensions found from those understanding are Voluntary Subordination, Covenantal Relationship, and Transforming Influence. The SLBS dimensions found from the application are Voluntary Subordination, Covenantal Relationship, Transforming Influence, Transcendence Spirituality, and Authentic Self.

Toxic Masculinity and Compulsive Heteronormativity in Konkona Sen’s Movie, A Death in the Gunj

Gender is one of the most contested subjects in literature. Some prominent scholars like Judith Butler have argued that gender is not innate, but performative. For instance, masculinity is a construct which is always believed to resonate with a compulsive heteronormativity. The fact that men have to behave like an actual “macho; the giver ; the doer completely contrasting feminine virtues such as the emotional , passive and the receiver is prescriptive of the ways through which heteronormativity has become naturalized since the beginning of the civilization. This paper looks into the subtle details about the rooted construct of heteronormativity resembled in the movie “A death in the Gunj’(2016) . Here the protagonist Shutu faces spiritual conflict between his naturally innate virtues like kindness, sensitivity, introversion which goes quite contrary to the compartmentalized masculine virtues such as assertiveness, bravery, manhood and a pressure to maintain a proper “macho” personality. This research looks into the prominent crisis of masculinity and gender performativity that the world faces today. Is it only essential to venerate the so called masculine virtues like dominance and assertiveness? If yes , what about kindness, sensitivity and the capacity to feel emotions that are so much sidelined as feminine virtues? What is the position of man in the modern society? The movie “ A death in Gunj “ paradoxically opens up these hard questions through the characterization of Shuttu who remains unloved and forsaken and drives himself towards the annals of self-destruction and suicide for the reason that he finds himself very vaguely suited to fit into the societal constructs of what makes a proper “man’. This research employs Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity to look into all these prominent gender questions. It also employs Lacan’s construct of symbolic order where language is a source of both alienation and subjectivity considering the fact that while language structures our understanding of self and reality, it alienates from the self that stemmed from the imaginary order from our authentic selves.

AGING AND THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF TRANSGENDER AND GENDER NONCONFORMING OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Adults identifying as transgender and gender non-conforming (T/GNC) in the United States may experience adversity, victimization, and discrimination across the life span (McDowell, et al., 2019). T/GNC older adults have higher rates of poverty, homelessness, social isolation, depression, and violence compared to older adults in the general population and compared with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) older adults (Sloan & Benson, 2022). This descriptive phenomenological study utilized a purposive and snowball sampling strategy and sought to increase understanding of this diverse group. Twenty participants aged 50 and older were interviewed. Themes included fear and/or actual loss of relationships after “coming out” as transgender; concerns and complexity of healthcare and anticipated changes in healthcare if faced with needing long-term care; navigating gendered space; living as their authentic self; “passing” as cisgender; finding acceptance within the LGB community; desire but struggles to have intimate relationships; conflict between internal and external sense of self; and histories of depression, and suicidality. Protective factors included having an internal source of strength; support within the T/GNC community; being in committed relationships; and receiving support from others. Age at time of transitioning, sex assigned at birth, and identifying as GNB but not transgender influenced lived experiences. McDowell, M.J., Hughto, J.M.W., & Resiner, S.L. (2019). Risk and protective factors for mental health morbidity in a community sample of female-to- male trans-masculine adults. BMC Psychiatry, 19(16), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-2008-0 Sloan, S., & Benson, J. J. (2022). Toward a conceptual model for successful transgender aging. Qualitative Social Work, 21(2), 455-471. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325021994666

Being in the Digital World: A Heideggerian Perspective

The rapid advancement of the digital age has dramatically reshaped various aspects of human existence. Drawing from Martin Heidegger’s philosophical insights, this study explores the profound implications of digital technology on human life, particularly focusing on the concepts of enframing, alienation, authenticity, and the transformation of human relationships and temporality. Employing a qualitative, theoretical analysis, the study delves into Heidegger’s philosophical constructs of “Dasein,” “being-with-others,” and “enframing” to interpret the contemporary digital experience. The analysis synthesizes insights from Heidegger’s works with current digital phenomena, examining the impact of technology on human identity, relationships, and the perception of time. The study reveals that the digital age, while offering connectivity and efficiency, engenders a sense of alienation and challenges to authenticity. Digital interactions often lack the depth of face-to-face encounters, altering the nature of “being-with-others.” The perpetual flow of digital information disrupts traditional temporal experiences, impacting the contemplative nature of “Dasein.” Moreover, the construction of online identities poses questions about the authenticity of self in the virtual domain. The findings underscore the tension between the benefits and challenges of digital technology. While digital advancements facilitate unprecedented global connections, they also risk commodifying human experiences and relationships. The study highlights the need for critical engagement with technology, advocating for a mindful approach that fosters genuine human connection and preserves authenticity in the digital era

Professionelle Authentizitat

The idea of an authentic self is at the heart of building trust in NGO fundraising. This paper asks how personal fundraising by paid workers ( ‚dialogers‘) relates to expectations of authenticity. Building on a review of the online self-representations of NGO fundraising agencies’ and on an ethnographic study of fundraisers’ work, it traces where the concept of the authentic self becomes relevant in fundraising and how it relates to notions of neoliberal labour. A conceptual history of personal authenticity, attempts at interpretation from cultural studies and media studies, as well as reflections on authenticity in fundraising marketing serve as approaches to the research field and lead to an account of the dialogers’ narrative selves. This enables a reflection on how authenticity as a powerful discourse relates to NGOs and to neoliberal worlds of work in general. The paper aims to condense the broad theory on personal authenticity and relate it to salaried work in the context of voluntary engagement. Furthermore, the examination of this special case of professional trust work helps to review assumptions that all too quickly arise from the interpretive pattern of ‚neoliberalism‘.

‘It is not about beauty … or is it?’ Fashion, body positivity and authenticity in micro-celebrities affective practices online

This article focuses on Italian micro-celebrities and their engagement with body positivity within the framework of affective labour and authenticity performances online, specifically through Instagram. The body positivity discourse has been embraced by very different subjects, negotiating sometimes conflicting ideals such as empowerment, social liberation, commercial exploitation and neo-liberal individualistic co-optation of the same values. Among many, I will focus on two accounts: influencer/content creator Muriel (@murielxo) and content creator Denise D’Angelilli (@dueditanelcuore). Muriel and Denise D’Angelilli are two different examples of how many young female micro-celebrities discuss issues such as beauty standards, harmful stereotypes against non-conforming bodies and female empowerment, mostly starting from their own experiences, sharing intimate accounts of their lives and images of their bodies. This type of sharing can be framed as a specific type of affective labour performed by creators negotiating their online presence and self-branding through a performance of authenticity. Moreover, the article focuses on their adoption of peculiar fashion practices and fashion choices and how these practices contribute to their ongoing narrative around authenticity and body positivity. While in the case of Muriel we have a ‘professional’ content creator who builds her online persona through the more institutional co-optation of fashion language, sponsored content and modelling jobs, @dueditanelcuore is insistently using her apparent lack of interest in fashion as a marker of an authentic self. Far from being genuinely opposite, I argue that both strategies are part of a constant negotiation between ‘authentic’ empowerment and post-feminist individualism that permeates online conversations around body positivity.

애착 트라우마 상담 사례연구: 안구운동 민감소실 재처리(EMDR)와 내면가족체계(IFS) 치료의 통합적 적용가능성을 중심으로

The purpose of this study is to present an integrative counseling approach to support the recovery of attachment trauma clients, focusing on the process of creating a sense of safety and building resources to help clients connect with the power of their authentic inner self. This paper examines an integrative counseling approach to help clients recover from attachment trauma by combining the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing(EMDR) technique with the counseling techniques of the Internal Family System(IFS) therapy. In addition, we examined the integrative counseling approach and the process of recovery through the case of a woman in her 20s who experienced attachment trauma, in order to contribute to providing the best counseling for attachment trauma clients. Based on the results of this study, limitations, implications, and further research are discussed.

Consuming for the authentic‐self: How exposure to death‐related information facilitates voluntary simplicity?

AbstractDespite the growing prevalence of voluntary simplicity as a consumption value embraced by brands in recent years, limited research has empirically explored the antecedents of voluntary simplicity. This study addresses this research gap by investigating the impact of death‐related information on voluntary simplicity. Through five studies, we demonstrate that exposure to death‐related information increases voluntary simplicity (Studies 1, 2). This increase occurs because consumers exposed to death‐related information are motivated to pursue their authentic selves (Studies 3, 4). However, we further reveal that this effect disappears when the message appeal of death‐related information is emotional (Study 5). Our findings suggest that brands can implement communication strategies highlighting voluntary simplicity when consumers are exposed to death‐related information.

Asian cultures of authenticity: the authentic self narrative in sociological perspective or the case of Tóc Tiên’s celebrity biography

ABSTRACT While celebrity studies scholarship on authenticity have concentrated on the study of Western celebrities, this article studies an Eastern celebrity through a sociological lens. I conducted a discourse analysis of gossip websites about Tóc Tiên, a Vietnamese singer and celebrity, that showcases the authentic self narrative as a discursive feature of a broader Asian Culture of Authenticity (CoA). I conclude that, given the global and culturally hybrid nature of the world that we live in today, the CoA can be found in hybrid formats in the Asian context as well. The paper shows how these discursive forms of the CoA play out within the celebrity biography of an Asian celebrity like Tóc Tiên and for the context of an Asian society like Vietnam through its cultural specificities and global dimensions. The authentic self narrative is a concept aimed at reflecting on some of the life dilemmas generated in the transition from traditional to modern societies, particularly of a Vietnamese diasporic young and female audience that potentially reflect the characteristics of Tóc Tiên’s international audience.

BeReal, Be Happy? Examining the relationships between authentic self-presentations on BeReal and adolescents’ self-esteem

Unlike most social media, the new platform BeReal encourages users to present an authentic self. Since such self-presentations are assumed to have positive effects, this study examined whether adolescents’ authentic self-presentations on BeReal relate to a higher self-esteem and whether self-concept clarity plays a role in that relationship. The relationships between exposure to perceived authentic self-presentations of others, social comparison on BeReal, and self-esteem were also explored. Of the 367 adolescents who participated in our cross-sectional survey, a total of 148 (40.33%, Mage = 16.23, SDage = 1.46; 82.4% girls) had an account on BeReal. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we found that these adolescents’ authentic self-presentations were not significantly related to their self-concept clarity nor indirectly to their self-esteem. Self-esteem and self-concept clarity were, however, positively correlated. Regarding exposure to others’ content on BeReal, only upward and downward social comparisons on these platforms were significantly related to a lower and higher self-esteem, respectively.

Translating Authentic Selves into Authentic Applications: Private College Consulting and Selective College Admissions

Stratification in selective college admissions persists even as colleges’ criteria for evaluating merit have multiplied in efforts to increase socioeconomic and racial diversity. Middle-class and affluent families increasingly turn to privatized services, such as private college consulting, to navigate what they perceive to be a complicated and opaque application process. How independent educational consultants (IECs) advise students can thus serve as a lens for understanding how the rules of college admissions are interpreted and taught to students. Through 50 in-depth interviews with IECs, I find that IECs encourage students to be authentic by being true to themselves but that demonstrating authenticity requires attention to how one’s authentic self will be perceived. Translating an authentic self into an authentic application also involves class-based and racialized considerations, particularly for Asian American students who are susceptible to being stereotyped as inauthentic. These findings suggest that efforts to improve diversity must be carefully implemented, or they risk reproducing inequality.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ individuals in Moldova

Abstract Background Sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) individuals often face physical and mental health disparities. In Moldova, a lower-middle-income, former Soviet state, there are few legal protections or social rights for LGBTQ+ people. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health disparities for many communities that have historically been marginalized, including LGBTQ+ people. The impact of the pandemic on LGBTQ+ people in Moldova was previously unstudied. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods analysis of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental and physical wellbeing of LGBTQ+ individuals in Moldova. We recruited self-identified LGBTQ+ people in Moldova to participate in an online survey or in-depth interviews. We analyzed interviews with a grounded theory methodology and survey data with descriptive statistics and we interpreted the data sets concurrently to identify emergent themes. Results From June to July 2022, we collected 86 online surveys and 12 interviews. Regarding mental wellbeing, our findings suggest LGBTQ+ people experienced both negative and positive effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants described an inability to be their authentic selves, especially when sheltering with unaccepting family members, as well as feelings of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. At the same time, participants described social support from the LGBTQ+ community and time and circumstances in which to explore their identities. Relating to physical wellbeing, participants reported interruptions to transgender medical care and some concerns about housing affordability. Conclusions This research contributes to a limited set of health studies on the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in Moldova. Our results highlight some unique impacts of the pandemic on LGBTQ+ people and underscore the importance of further research in this area and on the necessity for response plans that can address the needs of LGTBQ+ people in future health crises. Key messages • Many LGBTQ+ people in Moldova cited the pandemic as an opportunity to explore their identities, especially away from the public eye. • During the pandemic, many LGBTQ+ individuals in Moldova needed to conceal their authentic selves from household members, exacerbating feelings of depression and loneliness.

Influencer creep: How artists strategically navigate the platformisation of art worlds

This article uses qualitative empirical research to explore the ways that Instagram has shaped both artistic labour and artistic practice. I draw from sociological perspectives on art worlds, critical platformisation literature and feminist cultural studies to argue that influencer cultures have originated key social practices that now animate creative labour more broadly. This process is defined as influencer creep. Influencer creep has the following three key tenets – self-branding, optimisation and authenticity. The article shows how artists draw from self-branding techniques rooted within influencer cultures, take up strategic techniques of algorithmic optimisation and share more of their authentic (yet highly stylised) selves online. I conclude that influencer creep has generated accelerated demands to consistently perform and maintain an artistic identity across social media platforms, which deepens well-documented existing inequalities in cultural and creative work.

Stories of acceptance and resistance: illness identity construction in athletes (mis)diagnosed with a personality disorder

ABSTRACT Mental illness identities are personally and socially constructed and impact psychological wellbeing. This study explored how athletes diagnosed with a personality disorder construct their illness identity and the various ways this impacted experience. Guided by an interpretivist paradigm, we recruited two powerlifters, Samantha and Alex, who engaged in a series of one-to-one interviews. In total, 11 hours of data was collected and analysed using dialogical narrative analysis. The personality disorder diagnosis had significant but divergent influences on each athlete. Samantha accepted the diagnosis, aligning to dominant medical understandings of mental illness and using these to construct renewed understandings of the self. In contrast, Alex told a counternarrative to dominant medical discourses of mental illness, which was characterised by stories of activism. Alex sought an alternate diagnosis, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which better validated their experience. We discuss implications of this work for those operating in sport, such as the importance of allowing athletes to develop their own understandings of mental illness to allow for the construction of an authentic self.

The authentic self in work and family roles and well‐being: A test of self‐determination theory

AbstractThe current study aims to advance the theoretical understanding of work and family authenticity, or the extent to which one's time, energy, and attention in work and family roles are consistent with life values, by examining the antecedents and processes by which they occur within a self‐determination theory framework. By testing the tenets of self‐determination theory, we examine a conceptual model in which we posit that work and family need satisfaction relates positively to life satisfaction through domain‐specific autonomous motivation, work and family authenticity, and domain satisfaction. We test our conceptual model with data collected at two time points from 220 working adults. Our results largely support our hypotheses in the work domain but, interestingly, not in the family domain, suggesting that human motivation processes differ by domain. We conclude by discussing implications and offering suggestions for future research.

“You Know There’s No ‘It’ Right? ‘It’ Was Just Us”

“You Know There’s No ‘It’ Right? ‘It’ Was Just Us”

The social self in humanistic counseling: A dialogical alternative for the practice of wellness and social justice

AbstractClassical humanistic philosophy and psychology both infer the persistence of a stable, authentic, and volitional self, which neither fully coheres with the values implicit to professional counseling nor offers sufficient relevance to culturally diverse client groups. As an alternative, the authors suggest that humanistic counseling can emerge as a distinct discipline of practice independent of its early influences. Further, the authors offer a dialogical alternative for humanistic counseling practice that might better support contemporary clients and their various social determinants of experience.