Approaching the True Self: Promotion Focus Predicts the Experience of Authenticity Institutional Repository Document

Research on subjective authenticity identifies several psychological antecedents that seem naturally tied to subjectively authentic experiences. Four studies (N = 525) tested the hypothesis that a promotion focus (compared to a prevention focus) represents another shared antecedent of felt authenticity. Studies 1 and 2 examined correlations between self-regulatory focus and subjective authenticity in the context of goal-pursuit and interpersonal interactions. Studies 3 and 4 were experiments designed to manipulate self-regulatory focus and examine the effect of promotion/prevention foci on subjective authenticity. Across all studies, we found that a promotion focus (relative to a prevention focus) was a robust predictor of subjective authenticity. Implications and future directions are discussed.