Authenticity Is Correlated With Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Humanistic psychology has long been interested in authenticity. Carl Rogers proposed that authenticity leads to more fully functioning behavior. However, it is only in recent years that there has been empirical research into the correlates of authenticity. The aim was to test for association between authenticity and two individual difference factors of much contemporary interest—mindfulness and emotional intelligence. Participants were 197 adults recruited either through convenience sampling or an online survey. All completed the Authenticity Scale, the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills, and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Higher scores on authenticity were associated with higher scores on self-deceptive enhancement, mindfulness, and emotional intelligence. Regression analyses showed that authenticity, specifically the self-alienation subscale, was able to predict mindfulness, and the authentic living subscale was able to predict emotional intelligence, taking into account social desirability and self-deceptive effects. Further research is now needed into the association between authenticity and self-deception and the causal relationships of these variables with emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and other characteristics of the fully functioning person.

The confluence of authenticity and mindfulness: Principal component analysis of the Authenticity Scale and the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire.

“…Vess et al (2016) found that higher scores on the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (Feldman et al, 2007) were associated with lower scores on Self-Alienation, r(93) = À.47, p , .01, higher scores on Authentic Living, r(93) = .29, p , .01, and lower scores on Accepting External Influence, r(93) = À.33, p , .01. In line with these results, Tohme and Joseph (2020) reported a strong correlation of r(197) = .61, p , .001, between the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (Baer et al, 2004) and the AS. The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills includes four subscales: Observing, Describing, Acting With Awareness, and Accepting Without Judgment.…”

“…Previous reports have shown that higher levels of authenticity correlate with higher levels of mindfulness (e.g., Tohme & Joseph, 2020), whereas true self-alienation (the feeling of being disconnected from what one truly is) is associated with mind wandering (Vess et al, 2016). On the other hand, the existing literature indicates that meditation fosters mindfulness experience (e.g., Moore & Malinowski, 2009) and reduces mind wandering (Mrazek et al, 2013).…”

“…For example, Tohme and Joseph (2020) suggested that mindfulness is an emergent property of authenticity, if understood as from Rogers' (1961) theory of congruence. Indeed, this resemblance between authenticity and mindfulness within the Rogerian framework can also be explained by their philosophical alliance.…”

Çatişma Yöneti̇m Sti̇lleri̇ni̇n Öncülleri̇ne Yöneli̇k Bi̇r Araştirma: Bi̇li̇nçli̇ Farkindalik Ve Duygusal Zekanin Rolü

“…Likewise, mindful people can be better at self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness (Goleman & Boyatzis, 2017). Previous studies support the link between trait mindfulness and emotional intelligence (Salcido-Cibrián et al, 2019;Tohme, 2020) Previous studies found a direct link between emotional intelligence and conflict management styles (Başoğul & Özgür;Schlaerth et al, 2013). For example, one study found that emotional intelligence is the antecedent of integrating and compromising styles (Shih & Susanto, 2010).…”

Dispositional authenticity, facilitativeness, femininity ideology, and dyadic relationship functioning in opposite‐gender couples: Actor‐partner interdependence analysis

“…Evidence supports his hypothesis by showing that authenticity is associated with various adaptive functioning and well‐being indicators across a range of contexts (see Sutton, 2020). For example, researchers have reported a positive association between authenticity and mindfulness, lower verbal defensiveness, higher secure self‐esteem, emotional intelligence, and psychological well‐being (Chen & Murphy, 2019; Heppner & Kernis, 2007; Lakey et al, 2008; Tohme & Joseph, 2020). In contrast, empirical evidence supports a link between inauthenticity and negative psychological outcomes.…”